Course Description

In this course, we will study an old-fashioned string theory. The main idea is not to study the current state of the theory, but to understand how physicists arrived at such constructions and how they avoid enormous difficulties. The course will cover anomalies, bosonic strings, Green-Schwartz superstrings, two-dimensional conformal field theory, compactification of closed bosonic strings and heterotic strings, and Polyakov strings.

Literature

I am not going to follow any specific book. List of some useful books and papers:

• M.B. Green, J.H. Schwarz, E. Witten, Superstring Theory, Vol. 1, 1987
• A.M. Polyakov, Gauge Fields and Strings, 1987
• J.Scherk, An Introduction to the Theory of Dual Models and Strings, Rev.Mod.Phys. 47 (1975) 123-164
• A.A. Belavin, G.M. Tarnopolsky, Introduction to string theory and conformal field theory, Phys.Atom.Nucl. 73 (2010) 848-877, Yad.Fiz. 73 (2010) 879-908
• E.T. Akhmedov, Review of modern string theory, Phys.Atom.Nucl. 72 (2009) 1574-1600, Yad.Fiz. 72 (2009) 1628-1655
• A.Yu. Morozov, String theory: What is it? Sov.Phys.Usp. 35 (1992) 671-714, Usp.Fiz.Nauk 162 (1992) 83-176