Written by one of the worlds leading authorities on the subject, this concise and accessible book starts with basic definitions and guides readers from classic topics to the. Strings, conformal fields, and mtheory, michio kaku, jan 1, 2000, science, 531 pages. As cofounder of string field theory, kaku carries on albert einsteins quest to unite the four fundamental forces of nature into a single grand unified theory of everything. Roughly one hundred years ago, at the turn of the last century, the newtonian paradigm started to collapse.
The mother of all superstrings in riffing on strings. When somebody in our present era has an intense multidimensional experience they tend to want to record it, just as people have throughout history. It suggests that theres a special symmetry acting on the physical theory of k3 surfaces. This is a book for the really serious student of string theory. Called by some, the theory of everything, superstrings may solve a problem that has eluded physicists for the past 50 years, the final unification of the two great theories of the twentieth century, general relativity and. Thumbing through old math books, they stumbled by chance on the beta function, written down in the last century by mathematician leonhard euler. Building on the foundations laid in his introduction to superstrings and m theory, professor kaku discusses such topics as the classification of conformal string theories, knot. Theoretical physicist michio kaku explains the basics of string theory the video cannot be shown at the moment. The string theory underlying umbral moonshine is likely to be not just any physical theory, but a particularly important one, cheng said. Physics of the impossible pdf by michio kaku bookspdf4free. String theory in a nutshell princeton university press. Kaku explores what humanity will and must achieve in the coming centuries.
Theoretical physicists are those scientists who work in that twilight zone cu. In string theory, all particles are vibrations on a tiny rubber band. Like all books of michio kaku, the book is written nicely and the topics included are indeed modern and up to date. Michio kaku is that the henry semat prof of theoretical physics at the graduate center of the town university of recent york. Kaku has written several books about physics and related topics, has made frequent appearances on radio, television, and. Michio kaku signing and reading, may 7 chevaliers books. I saw him on something else, but i cant remember what.
The other way that string theory could be proven is mathematically, by showing that general relativity and quantum mechanics have a unique combination that is the general framework of string theory. String theory represents a major dream of theoretical physicists a description of all forces and matter in one mathematical picture. A few years ago, string theory seemed the prime candidate for the longsought theory of everything, the holy grail of physics that will reveal, writes jim holt in the new yorker, how the universe began and how it will end in a few elegant equations, perhaps concise enough to be emblazoned on a tshirt. String theory continues to progress at an astonishing rate, and this book brings the reader up to date with the latest developments and the most active areas of. Introduction to string theory pdf 79p this book covers the following topics. Introduction to superstrings and mtheory by michio kaku. Michio kaku is a professor of physics at the city university of new york, cofounder of string field theory, and the author of several widely acclaimed science books, including beyond einstein, the future of the mind, hyperspace, physics of the future, and physics of the impossible. Introduction to string theory physics stack exchange. Introduction to superstrings and mtheory by michio kaku overview called by some the theory of everything, superstrings may solve a problem which has eluded physicists for the past 50 years the final unification of the two great theories of the twentieth century, general relativity and quantum field theory. The best books on string theory recommended by steven gubser. String theory and the illusion of intelligent design, he saw the original dual resonance model equations and thought they looked similar to equations for oscillators, which led him to create the string description concurrently with yoichiro nambu and holger nielson. Kaku s book, at 568 pages, is a comprehensive, selfcontained text on string theory it contains useful summaries of mathematical topics such as index theory, cohomology, and kahler manifolds. Famed physicist and cofounder of string field theory dr.
Michio kaku, a theoretical physicist and cofounder of the highly regarded string field theory, has created a stir in the scientific community by saying he believes there is evidence that the universe was created by a higher intelligence and not by accident. Michio kaku is the cofounder of string field theory, and is one of the most widely recognized scientists in the world today. Mathematicians chase moonshine, string theory connections. The little book of string theory by steven gubser read. Read the soft copy of this book anytime, anywhere and download it for free.
I work in something called string theory, thats what i do for a living. Introduction to superstrings, 2012, 588 pages, michio kaku. String theory is a theoretical framework in which the pointlike particles of particle physics are replaced by onedimensional objects called strings. Currently, string theory represents the only advanced approach to a unification of. We have also drawn on some ideas from the books string theory and mtheory becker, becker and schwarz, introduction to string theory polchinski, string theory in a nutshell mcmahon and superstring theory green, schwarz and witten, along with the lecture notes of david tong, sometimes wordforword.
Also bbs sorta jumps right into the fun parts a bit faster. String theory is an attempt to unite the two pillars of 20th century physics quantum mechanics and albert einsteins theory of relativity with an overarching framework that can explain all. Kakus book, at 568 pages, is a comprehensive, selfcontained text on string theoryit contains useful summaries of mathematical topics such as index theory, cohomology, and kahler manifolds. Researchers studying k3 surfaces cant see this symmetry yet, she said, suggesting that there is. When michio was growing up, he loved science fiction shows and books, filled with timetraveling heroes, parallel universes, and intergalactic space travel. Kakus book, at 568 pages, is a comprehensive, selfcontained text on string theoryit contains useful summaries of mathematical topics such as index theory. I dont know anything about ftheory, string field theory and matrix theory, but these two books have very clear introductions of. Theoretical physicist michio kaku explains the basics of string theory in this clip from his floating university lecture.
Strings in qcd, the classical string, open and closed strings, quantization, lorentz invariance, interactions and vertex operators, brst quantization, the polyakov path integral, tduality, complex coordinates, fermions in strings, the gso projection, zero modes. String theory is unique at this time because, as kaku pointed out, it is the only game in town that truly has the potential to be a theory of everything. Introduction to superstrings and mtheory michio kaku springer. Is string theory the only game in town like michio kaku. The best book to start with string theory physics forums. Introduction to string theory pdf 79p download book. Michio kaku is the cocreator of string field theory, a branch of string theory. Ive heard and read about string theory and that stuff before. Some recent versions of string theory have predicted that the strings could have a longer length, up to nearly a millimeter in size, which would mean theyre in the realm. Building on the foundations laid in his introduction to superstrings and m theory, professor kaku discusses such topics as the classification of conformal string theories, knot theory, the yangbaxter relation, quantum groups, and the insights into 11dimensional strings recently obtained from mtheory.
As for me, polchinskis book is very challenging to read, but it is the most clear and wellorganized book in string theory. String field theory cofounder michio kaku did not even try to explain his controversial yet undeniably brilliant cosmological theory of everything. Popular physicist and science communicator brian greene has. Michio kaku, a theoretical physicist at the city college of new york cuny and cofounder of string field theory, says theoretical particles known as primitive semiradius tachyons are physical evidence that the universe was created by a higher intelligence. The universe explained parallel worlds m theory string. Its time to add some free books to the grand list of ebooks and the topic of the day is string theory. Introduction to superstrings and mtheory graduate texts. These strings, the size of the planck length 1035 m, vibrate at specific resonant frequencies. This tries to resolve the alleged conflict between classical physics and quantum physics by elementary unitsthe one classical force. Shutterstock but despite the differences in language, accounts such as these are essentially similar to those experienced by people today. Strings, conformal fields, and mtheory michio kaku springer. Hi there, not sure if this is the right place for this, but as far as i am aware michio kaku has spoken to seti about parallel universes. Scientists who only years before had declaimed the imminent end of physics, were now faced with empirical data for which there was no adequate theoretical explanation.
I can tell you about the future of your mind, ama im a henry semat professor of theoretical physics at the cuny graduate center, a leader in the field of theoretical physics, and. String theory in a nutshell is the definitive introduction to modern string theory. A journey through creation, higher dimensions, and the future of the cosmos is a popular science book by michio kaku first. Im the cofounder of string field theory, one of the main branches of. String theory is a set of attempts to model the four known fundamental interactionsgravitation, electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear forcetogether in one theory. He is a professor of theoretical physics in the city college of new york and cuny graduate center. Three roads to quantum gravity, new york, basic books. Moreover, string theory is very much a work in progress and certain aspects of the theory are far from understood. String theory, often called the theory of everything, is a relatively young science that includes such unusual concepts as superstrings, branes, and extra dimensions. Superstrings, hidden dimensions, and the quest for the ultimate theory by brian greene, parallel wo.
Scientists are hopeful that string theory will unlock one of the biggest mysteries of the universe, namely how gravity and quantum physics fit together. Others, like kaku, had made admirable earlier efforts, but greene really got it off the ground. Strings, conformal fields, and mtheory graduate texts in. Polchinski has all the details, but i never liked how that book is organized.
Introduction to superstrings and mtheory michio kaku. There are many compelling reasons to take this view such as the fact that, with relatively little in the way of new conceptual. There is no experimental evidence that string theory is the correct description of our world and scant hope that hard evidence will arise in the near future. At its core, string theory uses a model of onedimensional strings in place of the particles of quantum physics. String theory in a nutshell by elias kiritsis, princeton university press, 2007, errata this book is an up to date presentation of the main parts of modern string theory, targeting specialized students and postdocs entering or working in string theory. In order to understand it, it is recommended that one has done a course on superstring theory, preferably on infinitedimensional lie algebras and supersymmetry too, and that one has read some material on conformal field theory good books are by di francesco et al. In parallel worlds, kaku presents many of the leading theories in physics. Michio kaku of newyork university talks about string theory. Michio kaku, string theory and the new world order. Introduction to superstrings and mtheory graduate texts in.