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Geremia
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What is the best review article, published in a peer-reviewed journal, introducing string theory?
An introductory broad overviewxepma said:What level are you looking for?
It's a bit old now, but in the spirit ofGeremia said:What is the best review article, published in a peer-reviewed journal, introducing string theory?
I would vote for it too.humanino said:Otherwise, today I'll vote for
http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0207142
Demystifier said:I would vote for it too.
There is also a book almost identical to these lectures. (The book contains one additional, but rather irrelevant, chapter).arivero said:It is true it is not a peer-reviewed review, but a set of lecture notes.
My favored books arexepma said:You're probably better off using the standard books like Polchinski, Becker Becker Schwarz, Zwiebach, Green Green Witten.
Demystifier said:My favored books are
Zwiebach for a beginner and
M. Kaku, Introduction to Superstrings and M-theory, for an advanced reader
And I don't like Polchinski's book.
Well, I do. That probably means that you wouldn't like his string book either.George Jones said:I haven't looked at this Kaku book, but I don't like his quantum field theory book.
Yes. In my opinion, the quality of the book significantly varies from chapter to chapter (which probably means that different chapters were written dominantly by different authors).George Jones said:Have you looked at the book by Becker, Becker, and Schwarz?
String theory is a theoretical framework in physics that attempts to explain the fundamental nature of particles and their interactions. It proposes that particles are not point-like objects, but rather tiny, vibrating strings, and that the properties of these strings determine the behavior of particles.
String theory is important because it has the potential to unify all of physics into a single, coherent framework. It can potentially reconcile the seemingly contradictory theories of general relativity and quantum mechanics, and provide a deeper understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe.
String theory differs from other theories in physics because it is a quantum theory of gravity. This means that it accounts for the effects of gravity at a quantum level, which other theories have been unable to do. Additionally, string theory proposes that particles are not point-like, as other theories suggest, but rather extended objects.
One of the biggest challenges facing string theory is the lack of experimental evidence. Since string theory makes predictions at energy scales far beyond what current experiments can reach, it has not yet been possible to test its validity. Another challenge is the complexity of the theory, which makes it difficult to make concrete predictions that can be tested.
No, there are other theories that also attempt to unify physics, such as loop quantum gravity and supersymmetry. However, string theory is currently the most well-developed and promising theory in this area.