- #1
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Hey smart people!
I want to learn string theory.
First things first: My background is in medium energy theory (as in the kind of physics that is investigated at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and at Brookhaven National Laboratory). As for my formal education, I've worked up through Sakurai's Advanced Quantum Mechanics and both volumes of Bjorken and Drell (my professors liked the classics). I have just ordered Weinberg's QFT set for a more modern treatment, and will probably go through that to fill in some of my QFT gaps before trying to learn string theory.
So, as to string theory itself, what books or online resources would you recommend? I have gone through the "Annotated List" that Jeff posted, and most of those documents are now neatly filed away in 3-ring binders, waiting for me to sink my teeth into them. But I'd really like to begin with a couple of really good textbooks. I am inclined to get Zweibach's A First Course In String Theory for starters (the title sounds right ). I've also downloaded his problem sets from his webpage at MIT's OpenCourseWare site.
Is this a good way to go about it? Are there any other books that you would recommend?
I want to learn string theory.
First things first: My background is in medium energy theory (as in the kind of physics that is investigated at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and at Brookhaven National Laboratory). As for my formal education, I've worked up through Sakurai's Advanced Quantum Mechanics and both volumes of Bjorken and Drell (my professors liked the classics). I have just ordered Weinberg's QFT set for a more modern treatment, and will probably go through that to fill in some of my QFT gaps before trying to learn string theory.
So, as to string theory itself, what books or online resources would you recommend? I have gone through the "Annotated List" that Jeff posted, and most of those documents are now neatly filed away in 3-ring binders, waiting for me to sink my teeth into them. But I'd really like to begin with a couple of really good textbooks. I am inclined to get Zweibach's A First Course In String Theory for starters (the title sounds right ). I've also downloaded his problem sets from his webpage at MIT's OpenCourseWare site.
Is this a good way to go about it? Are there any other books that you would recommend?