Book Description
String theory is one of the most exciting and challenging areas of modern theoretical physics. This book guides the reader from the basics of string theory to recent developments. It introduces the basics of perturbative string theory, world-sheet supersymmetry, space-time supersymmetry, conformal field theory and the heterotic string, before describing modern developments, including D-branes, string dualities and M-theory. It then covers string geometry and flux compactifications, applications to cosmology and particle physics, black holes in string theory and M-theory, and the microscopic origin of black-hole entropy. It concludes with Matrix theory, the AdS/CFT duality and its generalizations. This book is ideal for graduate students and researchers in modern string theory, and will make an excellent textbook for a one-year course on string theory. It contains over 120 exercises with solutions, and over 200 homework problems with solutions available on a password protected website for lecturers at www.cambridge.org/9780521860697.
Customer Reviews:
A good general introduction.......2007-04-22
String theory has been criticized since it was first invented but not to the degree that it has now, this criticism mostly focusing on its failure to connect with observation. The criticism has increased dramatically in recent years however, and some of this has been too vituperative to be useful to those curious about string theory as a viable physical theory. But criticism, however harsh, can be healthy, since it motivates the proponents of a theory to more carefully elucidate its foundations and content. This is usually not the case when a theory is popular, as researchers are in a competitive spirit and are hesitant to share the knowledge to possible competitors. At this stage in the game however, string theorists it seems are now on the defensive, and have thus taken the time to discuss in-depth what this reviewer still believes is the most complex and beautiful theory ever constructed in mathematical physics. String theory still has a long way to go before it gains status as being a physical theory, but hopefully by the end of the next few decades one will see the appearance of charts, graphs, and numerical calculations in books on string theory, much like one finds in the most successful of all physical theories to date: relativistic quantum field theory.
Some highlights in the book that are particularly insightful include:
1. The observation that Dirichlet boundary conditions (for the open string) break Poincare invariance, but that this leads to the introduction of Dp-branes as positions of the endpoints of the open string. Poincare invariance is recovered as long as Dp-brane is space filling, i.e. has a dimension one less than the background spacetime.
2. The view that the BRST quantization of the path integral is really a conformal field theory. This is interesting in that BRST analysis is typically thought of as a procedure for quantizing constrained systems (gauge theories being predominant examples).
3. The `Myers effect'. Sometimes referred to as the `D-brane dielectric effect', it is part of an attempt to understand the physics of non-Abelian D-branes for strong fields. One of the challenges in this understanding involves the validity of the Dirac-Born-Infeld action in these kinds of circumstances, which as the authors remark is designed for situations where the background fields and world-volume gauge fields do not vary appreciably over the distances on the order of the string scale.
4. The origin of the (classical) Virasoro algebra as the freedom of choice of gauge in the reparametrization symmetry. And along these same lines, the quantization of the Virasoro algebra is defined to the normal ordering of the Virasoro generators, and their commutators give an expression consisting of the ordinary classical term plus a "quantum" correction, the famous central extension. Thus the quantum Virasoro algebra can be viewed as a "quantum deformation" of the classical Virasoro algebra, with the central parameter as being the deformation parameter. This philosophy of deformation has found generalization in what are now called `quantum groups' (even though strictly speaking they are much more complicated objects than ordinary groups).
5. The connection of the dilaton to the Euler characteristic.
6. The role of the GSO projection in insuring consistency in the state spectrum.
7. The use of (vector bundle) K-theory to classify D-brane charges. This use arises when it is realized that the conserved R-R charges cannot be identified with cohomology classes of gauge field configurations. Instead, the D-branes are classified by K-theory classes.
8. The discussion on `primitive cohomology' and its relation to de Rham cohomology and Hodge theory.
9. The role of the Born-Infeld structure in ensuring Lorentz invariance of the T-dual description. The Born-Infeld action was once viewed as a mere historical curiosity, namely as a nonlinear generalization of the Maxwell theory, with no experimental backing. That it finds such a natural place in string theory is very interesting (but still of course lacking in experimental support).
10. The derivation of a lower bound for Newton's constant from heterotic M-theory, which is close to the observed value.
11. The argument, beautifully elucidated in this book, that type IIA supergravity may be obtained from 11-dimensional supergravity by dimensional reduction.
12. The discussion on warped space-times and the gauge hierarchy. The authors cleverly motivate this subject by asking why Newtonian gravity follows an inverse-square law rather than an inverse-cube law.
13. An entire chapter is devoted to "stringy" geometry, which is a fascinating subject given that it touches so many areas of modern mathematics.
14. The discussion of the `hidden sector' and its conjectured relation to dark matter and supersymmetry breaking.
15. The author's treatment of the AdS/CFT conjecture is superb and is by far the most interesting part of the book. The dualities shown to exists between gauge theory and string theory are a possible route to a full understanding of nonperturbative quantum chromodynamics, which to this date has defied resolution.
Some major omissions or discussions that need more elaboration include:
1. The difficulties that are actually involved in quantizing the Nambu-Goto action. The authors remark that this is due to the presence of the square root, but it would have been interesting if they would have indicated just where the trouble rises explicitly when a quantization procedure is attempted with the Nambu-Goto action. In ordinary quantum field theory, the presence of the square root is interpreted as a "nonlocal" problem, but even there this issue is not usually dealt with in a manner that is very transparent.
2. A more detailed treatment of string field theory for those readers who want to compare it to what is done in second quantization in ordinary quantum field theory.
3. The role of the Beltrami differentials in the attaining of a measure for moduli space that is invariant under reparametrizations of the moduli space.
4. No in-depth discussion of characteristic classes over and above the algebra involved in their manipulation (i.e. the wedge products). An understanding of characteristic classes is crucial to understanding superstring and brane theory, but the pages of this book mislead the unsuspecting reader that there is nothing to characteristic classes except algebraic manipulation of the differential forms. But characteristic classes have a deep geometrical meaning, and obtaining insight into this meaning has been proven to be difficult for students of string theory. This book does not provide any of this insight, nor do any of the other books currently in print on string theory.
5. Is supersymmetry absolutely necessary for the incorporation of fermions into string theory? The authors seem to argue that it is, but an explicit proof is lacking.
6. The proof that `threshold bound states' are stable is omitted, disappointing the more mathematically sophisticated reader. As the authors remark, the proof involves a special type of index theory involving non-Fredholm operators, and where one must deal with a continuous spectrum. The usual index theory breaks down since one is only dealing with elliptic operators, and contributions to the index from bosons and fermions do not necessarily have to be integers.
7. The authors should have included more discussion on mirror symmetry, beautiful subject that it is.
8. Dp-branes are asserted to be useful in incorporating non-Abelian gauge symmetries in string theory, in that they appear "naturally" as confined to world volumes of multiply-coincident Dp-branes. But is this the best way to introduce these symmetries? Is there a method, other than this one and `compactification', that is just as "natural" and does not have the contrived element that the introduction of Dp-branes sometimes has?
9. The authors need to elaborate in more detail on the definition of "stable" and "unstable" D-brane.
10. The omitting of the proof that string theories are ultraviolet finite theories of quantum gravity. This is by far the most serious omission in the book. This reviewer does not know of a reference that proves this assertion, and many in the physics community have pointed to this omission as being a sign that the string theory research community has been misled by false assertions of proof.
Excellent Book.......2007-03-11
I think this is a great book that provides not only a great introduction to string theory (there is no assumed prior knowledge of string theory), but also provides coverage of many more advanced topics as well. I think it's likely that the vast majority of students specializing in string theory will want to read it at some point in their studies.
The coverage of topics in the first few chapters is in some ways fairly standard. The first two chapters consists of a high level overview of string theory, bosonic string, the Nambu-Goto action the Polyakov action, the Virasoro algebra, the critical dimension, light code gauge and the spectra of open/closed strings. After this there is a chapter on conformal field theory, naturally emphasizing the parts relevant to string theory (including a bit of string field theory). This is followed by discussions of worldsheet supersymmetry, spacetime supersymmetry, anomalies, T-duality and heterotic strings. The writing is very clear and considering the nature of the material, fairly straight forward. There are two things that I considered exceptional strengths. One is that the discussions incorporate D-branes, M-theory and the (unexpected) symmetries of string theory early on. The other is that there are numerous worked examples, as there are throughout the book.
At a very high level the rest of the book contains more extensive discussions of M-theory, compactification (including a substantial amount besides the standard approach of the compact dimensions being a Calabi-Yau space), mirror symmetry, S-duality, possible cosmological consequences of string theory, black holes and other solutions with horizons, matrix theory, AdS/CFT correspondence (a proposed equivalence between closed string solutions on the product of a sphere and anti-deSitter space and Yang-Mills theories) and the holographic principle (or as some would say conjecture).
The things I appreciated the most about this material was that is was a very interesting mix of topics. The discussion of black holes and cosmology was fairly extensive (for cosmology it was the most extensive I've seen in a text book). As was the coverage of the AdS/CFT correspondence. There were also some topics that I don't recall seeing in other string theory books, such as warped geometries in compactification and S-branes (these are like D-branes but they satisfy Dirichlet boundary conditions in timelike directions).
Needless to say it's a fairly advanced book. There is some coverage of things like complex spaces, topology, general relativity and cosmology. However this material is more along the lines of a review, not something intended to teach from first principles (some of the other string theory books cover this kind material in more detail).
All-in-all I believe this book not only provides a great introduction, it also provides an excellent treatment of some of the more advanced topics in string theory.
Best of All Worlds.......2007-03-09
This new textbook on string theory might be considered a modern pimped up version of Zwiebach's introductory course. The book is - as an introduction - better than the 2-volume set by Schwarz (Green, Schwarz, Witten), which is partly outdated, and on the same footing as Polchinski's version, but certainly not as thorough and elaborate. There is some overlap between all books (e.g. the CFT bits from Polchinski are quite similar to those in this new text, the introduction of the bosonic string via the relativistic point particle looks like the ones by Polchinski and Zwiebach, but Becker & Schwarz immediately generalise the concept to p-branes, SCFTs are discussed in a similar manner as in Polchinski, and so on), but there are additional features that really add to the value of the book: all exercises within the text have solutions directly under them, so one can either try to solve them or read them through, and some parts are explained more clearly. The concepts of "(gauge) symmetries" are discussed slightly better than by Polchsinki or GSW, but for those who want mathematical proofs instead of hand-waving arguments, and more background material on supersymmetry, I can only say that I have found no books on string theory that really do that. Both are subjects of study on their own and would go "beyond the scope" of these books... Nevertheless, a very good introduction and most of all: up to date!
For mid-undergraduates, I think, the perfect sequence for string theory would be (provided one acquires knowledge of QFT and Lie algebras for the more advanced texts):
Zwiebach>Becker/Schwarz>Polchinski (supplemented by GSW's first volume)
But if you want to learn string theory more quickly or if you don't have problems with the very basics, then leave out Zwiebach and go for this one immediately. For graduates, Polchinski should be the start, but one can take Backer/Schwarz always as a references and supplement on some topics (connection to black holes and gauge theories).
A Modern Fairytale.......2007-01-30
This is a fabulous excursion into a world inhabited by all sorts of mythical creatures: Calabi-Yau 3-folds, D-branes, orbifolds, ten and eleven-dimensional backgrounds, supersymmetric partners, covariant fermionic vertex operators and many others that only the wildest imaginations can conceive of. The wizards and magicians who have conjured these beasts have also cast a powerful spell on their easily-beguiled followers who see streets of gold and emerald trees as they walk through the morass of E8*E8 gauge fields, compactifications and dualities. This tome will be a welcome addition to your bookshelf right between Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland. I gladly recommend each of you to take a brief stroll into this enchanted land to be followed by the volumes of Landau and Lifchitz, so that you will be able to find your way back to reality again. Some have called strings "a theory of anything". Indeed, it is a wonderful place where you can make all your wishes come true. But do not stay too long in the kingdom of string theory lest you end up like so many others who are lost, searching endlessly for the legendary realms of M-theory or wandering aimlessly in the infinite labyrinth of the Landscape, wasting the remaining years of their life on naught but a fable.
Most up-to-date string theory tome published this year........2007-01-24
This volume was authored by one of the most respected researchers in the field, as well as the Becker sisters. It is beautifully illustrated, and is well timed for upcomming experimental tests of superstring theory at the Large Hadron collider. I did not give if five starts because it only devoted four pages to the Landscape, which professor Susskind, the father of string theory, has declared the most significant advance in physics in the past century.
Book Description
The two volumes that comprise String Theory provide an up-to-date, comprehensive account of string theory. Volume 1 provides a thorough introduction to the bosonic string, based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. The first four chapters introduce the central ideas of string theory, the tools of conformal field theory, the Polyakov path integral, and the covariant quantization of the string. The book then treats string interactions: the general formalism, and detailed treatments of the tree level and one loop amplitudes. Toroidal compactification and many important aspects of string physics, such as T-duality and D-branes are also covered, as are higher-order amplitudes, including an analysis of their finiteness and unitarity, and various nonperturbative ideas. The volume closes with an appendix giving a short course on path integral methods, followed by annotated references, and a detailed glossary.
Customer Reviews:
Do yourself a favour and use instead the book by Green Schwarz & Witten or the one by Theisen........2006-08-26
Dr. Polchinski may know a lot on string theory but he doesn't know that much on how to write a book. I have been struggling with this book trying to learn string theory and it has been a total failure. You may think it's me but is not. I have studied chapters 1 to 4. I will announce some of its bad features: 1-The notation is awful specially on chapter 2 when he defines the infinitesimal variation of a physical quantity in a very complicated way, all formulas are presented in terms of awful excesively complicated expresions that make you feel sick (and I'm not joking), also on chapter two he defines a way for applying Wicks theorem (eq.(2.2.7)) using exponential operators but I finally gave up and did it my way for calculating expression (2.2.13). 2-Many of the results are not derived and trying to understand what happen from line to line is, besides being a mystery, in my opinion hard to say the less.
3- On chapter 3 I liked the way he calculates de Faddeev Popov determinant in terms of ghosts and you begin to hope that the book is finally going to start getting better but is not, on page 102 and 'till the end of the chapter (page 118) he starts just throwing a lot of equations that you just can't understand where they came from, specially page 105 where he uses the geodesic distance to higher orders but never explains nor show what this expressions are nor what approximations he is doing, nor where they came from. Then again on page 107 he gives a relation between operators regularized by dimensional regularization and by 'polchinski' regularization, at least the second one is defined but the other is not (on curved space)and he just shows some awful equations that no one knows where they come from. This book has been written for someone who already knows a lot on string theory but it is not for someone who is trying to learn string theory for the first time. All in all try instead the classic book by Green Schwarz and Witten or the one by Theisen and this one use it only as a reference.
The string theory book.......2006-04-01
In short, I think volumes I and II of "String Theory" are the best books on string theory available. Presumably any serious student of string theory will study them both. The writing style is clear, physical considerations are at the forefront, the selection of topics is excellent and the treatment is as up-to-date as any I'm aware of.
Volume I covers the bosonic string. Of course this doesn't provide a realistic model for our universe, but understanding it forms the foundation of the study of more realistic string theories.
The first chapter provides the physical motivation for string theory. A brief description of some current unsolved problems in physics, and how string theory may resolve them, is given. Most notably this includes not only providing a quantum theory of gravity, but also providing a grand unified theory. A brief outline of techniques used throughout the book is given. These are covered in more detail as the book develops and include: the Polyakov action (how to get it from the Nambu-Goto form and why it's more useful), the Polyakov action symmetries, string theory as a two-dimensional quantum field theory, string boundary conditions, the string spectra, supersymmetry (worldsheet and spacetime) and the critical dimension. This is an excellent introduction and nicely sets the stage for the rest of the book.
The next chapter presents conformal field theory. It's also an excellent introduction. In particular covering conformal field theory with anticommuting fields. The Virasoro algebra is also derived. He could have covered these conformal field theory concepts as they came up, but I liked having them in one central location early in the book.
Strings take center stage again in the following chapter as the Polyakov path integral is examined in great detail. Among the results are a calculation of the critical dimension and the recovery of general relativity in the low energy limit of string theory. These are just a couple of the interesting results, there is much more in this chapter.
The following chapters quantize the string, calculate the string spectrum, derive the S-matrix, calculate tree level scattering amplitudes and calculate one-loop amplitudes (higher order amplitudes are covered in the final chapter). One of many things that stand out is his discussion of divergences. He describes the difference between infrared and ultraviolet divergences. After showing ultraviolet divergences are absent in string theory he comments on how the mechanisms that remove them is different for open and closed strings. This is just one example of how physical concepts are kept at the forefront.
The chapter on compactification covers more than just the basics such as (D - 4) dimensions must be compactified and this gives rise to some extra gauge fields. Orbifolds are introduced in this chapter. It also covers T-duality, one of the important (and unexpected) symmetries of string theories. D-branes are also introduced (D-branes are covered in more detail in volume II), obviously this is an important concept in string theory. I was happy to see such important concepts introduced so quickly.
In short, this is a great book. Even with only light coverage of supersymmetry (this is covered in detail in volume II) many interesting and up-to-date topics are presented. Clearly the author put a lot of time into thinking about how to make a difficult subject as approachable as possible. Throughout the book he anticipates questions the reader may have, or maybe should have, and addresses them.
Enlightening text on a murky topic.......2002-09-17
This book succeeds in what seems to be the impossible. It actually presents a clear, up to date, and entertaining version of a field that is still very much in a state of active research and is still, after all these years, on quite uncertain ground. By studying this, the reader who thinks intelligently about the material presented will be able to form his/her own opinions on this still somewhat controversial topic and will be able to converse intelligently with others who have opinions on the topic. I know that for me personally, this text opened up beautiful ideas which, to a large extent, are still unexplored. Before I read this book, my gut feelings about the topic were that it was rather dubious at best, but now that I understand (I think) the basic ideas of the field, I feel quite comfortable in it, indeed almost as if it is completely natural. What I think is one of the best things about this book is that it does not assume the pretense that string theory is on firm ground, that everything is quite certain and that string theory HAS to be the final theory of nature in all its glory. I find this attitude EXTREMELY pretensious and annoying. Instead, it simply covers what we know about string theory, and explains in detail just why it is consistent, and why it offers an explanation for what we see in nature. In short, it leaves just enough room for the imagination of an intelligent reader to philosophize as to the meaning of the theory and as to its ultimate place in nature
As for practical details, it seems to me that the reader should at the very least have a firm understanding of Quantum Field Theory (at least at the level of Weinberg's first volume, see my review on that modern masterpiece), and to a lesser extent of General Relativity, before even attempting to tackle this. I know that I myself, despite the fact that I have read several texts on QFT, had to reread several sizeable chunks of the book to fully digest it.
Good try, but too dense.......2002-04-12
Lets face it, string theory is a difficult subject. But the only reason this book is the best string theory text is because they are all lousy. What it comes down to is string theory is too new for a good textbook writer to have tackled the task. What has happened, is string theory is currently populated by a small group of elite geniuses. So some of these elite geniuses take to writing a book, which turns out to be clear to other geniuses, but maybe not so clear to others, who are nonetheless capable of learning the theory. This happens in all fields, you will find that modern quantum mechanics books are much more readable than volumes written by the founders of the theory. Polchinski has clear writing, but can you solve the problems? If it seems clear but solving the problems is a mystery, it isn't a good book. Why can't people put in lots of examples? Why can't they include solutions to at least odd numbered problems? If they went to all the trouble to write the book they could at least do that. After all the goal is to teach, not to be mysterious. What needs to happen is some physicist with a talent for writing needs to A)Write an undergraduate level text on field theory, and B)write a more accessible book about string theory aimed at people who aren't at the level of Weinberg intelligence wise.
very thorough and complete.......2000-08-22
Polochinski presents upto date developments (mostly in 2nd volume) in string theory such as D-branes and dualities that are not discussed in Green, Witten, Schwarz's Superstring theory text. However, I found GWS's arguments easier to follow because they were intuitively and physically motivated. Although Polchinski's books lack physical insights, he more than makes up for them by completeness of the material, mathematical rigor and helpful exercises. However, I highly recommend that you first get Di Francesco's conformal field theory and read chapters 3-7 , 10 and 12 to get a better feel for stuff like state-operator mappings, Virasoro algebra, OPE's, etc. Although Polchinski claims the books are pretty much self-contained, I would say QFT (probably around lvl of 1st vol. of Weinberg) and GR are min prereq and some knowledge of SUSY, rep. theory of Lie alg, alg. toplogy wouldn't hurt. Lastly, the first edition had many many typos but corrections are frequently updated and you can download them through a website whose address is given in the book (the address in the book has a typo and should read "ucsb").
Book Description
This is an introduction to statistical mechanics, intended to be used either in an undergraduate physical chemistry course or by beginning graduate students with little undergraduate background in the subject. It assumes familiarity with thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, the kinetic theory of gases, quantum mechanics and spectroscopy, at the level at which these subjects are normally treated in undergraduate physical chemistry. Highly illustrated with numerous exercises and worked solutions, it provides a concise, up-to-date treatise of statistical mechanics and is ideally suited to use in one semester courses.
Download Description
Statistical mechanics is the theoretical apparatus used to study the properties of macroscopic systems - systems made up of many atoms or molecules - and relates those properties to the system's microscopic constitution. This book is an introduction to statistical mechanics, intended to be used either by advanced undergraduates or by beginning graduate students. The first chapter deals with statistical thermodynamics and aims to quickly derive the most commonly used formulas in the subject. The remainder of the book then illustrates the application of these formulas in traditional areas such as the ideal gas and less traditional areas such as the quantum ideal gas. Highly illustrated with numerous exercises and worked solutions, it provides a concise, up-to-date treatise of statistical mechanics ideal for use on an 8-12 lecture course.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Introduction.......2006-09-01
While looking for a suitable textbook for a one-semester course on Statistical Mechanics, I found this little gem by Prof. Widom, a recognized authority in the field. It was a pleasure to read, clear, all the classical topics well explained, very understandable.
Several excellent textbook on the subject are available, but none conveys so much in so little space (THE SPACE you have available in an undergraduate lecture course), yet with no compromise on rigour or clarity. At the beginning, I was a little uneasy by the choice of skipping a discussion of the (difficult) foundations, jumping directly to the Boltzmann distribution as a starting point. Now I totally agree with it, it is the best for a first introduction, and if time is left (rarely) one can profitably add a discussion on fundations at the end of the course.
Book Description
Statistical physics concepts such as stochastic dynamics, short- and long-range correlations, self-similarity and scaling, permit an understanding of the global behavior of economic systems without first having to work out a detailed microscopic description of the system. This pioneering text explores the use of these concepts in the description of financial systems, the dynamic new specialty of econophysics. The authors illustrate the scaling concepts used in probability theory, critical phenomena, and fully-developed turbulent fluids and apply them to financial time series. They also present a new stochastic model that displays several of the statistical properties observed in empirical data. Physicists will find the application of statistical physics concepts to economic systems fascinating. Economists and other financial professionals will benefit from the book's empirical analysis methods and well-formulated theoretical tools that will allow them to describe systems composed of a huge number of interacting subsystems.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Introduction.......2004-12-01
This book is an excellent introduction to financial analitics for Physicists and also for others. Though a little out dated, but what can you expect from such a fast changing subject?
This is not the first book I have read in this subject, but it is my favorite right now. I could have saved myself a lot of trouble if this would have been the first.
Nevertheless, it should be considered as an intial reference point and not as to expect it to contain all the details. After all it only has 148 pages.
target audience not defined.......2003-09-22
I find the book rather poorly written in the aspect of providing links between statistical physics and its application in economics. As a physicist with a background in stochastic processes, I was looking for an introduction to their applications to economic analysis, complete with examples and discussion of the methods' limitations. The book was somewhat disappointing in this respect. Quite often, in many chapters, the necessary math is explained, then some aspects of how it is manefest in economical data are presented and then the chapter ends, leaving the reader wonder what the specific cases may be and if it is practical to use those methods at all. Above all, there is very little discussion as to what the results actually mean, in economical terms.
I believe the book may be helpful for reseachers active in this field but I would not recommend it as a first introduction to econophysics. For economists, the math may be rather difficult to go through as some of the fundamental concepts are not defined consistently. For physicists with no previous exposure to econophysics, I would prefer to see more economics.
Not bad, considering..........2002-08-13
The book is not bad considering the total lack of existence of intelligible literature in this supposedly vast field.
The content is really a collection of quickie crib-sheets on a sundry of topics with nominally common theme: Finance.
A lot of the actually useful stuff is the author's previously published papers on price-return distributions.
Aside from his own previously published work, he has a good tutorial on the GARCH scheme though with precious little follow up reading resources for delving in deeper (or even sideways).
This book is priced far too high given its content and depth.
Look for a used copy, and do not count on the author to answer questions by email.
First in the new field.......2002-06-05
I found several parts of this book useful while preparing lectures for an introductory econophysics course in Fall, 2001. The discussions of convolutions of distributions, Levy distributions and scaling are well-written and easy to follow. In the brief discussion of the St. Petersburg Paradox I missed a critical discussion of expected utility, which was invented by Bernoullli to 'resolve' that paradox. Spurred by von Neumann and Morgenstern, neo-classical economics relies on the idea of expected utility, which seems empirically to be wrong. The chapter on time correlations is also very readable (although Wiener processes are not 1/f^2 noise!). ARCH and GARCH methods are discussed, saving the student from the pain of reading badly-written papers by mathematically-minded economists, but the chapters on options are too brief with nothing new. The best introduction to options is still the original Black-Scholes paper (excepting their erroneous claim that CAPM and the delta-hedge strategy produce option pricing pdes that agree with each other). Also, it would have been nice to have seen a discussion of CAPM. The discussion of algorithmic complexity left me cold (see my earlier books and papers on nonlinear dynamics), and I would like to have seen a critical discussion of the EMH. These criticisms are ok, though, the gaps leave something for the rest of us to work on.
Physicists Land On Planet Economics.......2001-06-11
SINCE the last decade, physicists have been trying to cope with the issues traditionally approached by economics using their own tools and methodologies. This research has been dubbed 'econophysics'. One reason why this incursion should be welcomed is the failure of mainstream economics to recognise financial systems as complex systems. Take mainstream international finance, for instance. In the most respectable workhorse model--so-called 'new open economy macroeconomics model'--foreign exchange rates always reach some sort of stable equilibrium. To put it bluntly, this means that currencies do not exhibit complex behaviour.
However, financial markets do demonstrate several of the properties that characterise complex systems. What is more, they are highly complex, open systems in which many subunits interact nonlinearly in the presence of feedback and stable governing rules. Earlier attempts to find chaos in financial data, for instance, have been disappointing exactly because the phenomenon is likely to emerge in systems which are only moderately complex. Although it cannot be ruled out that financial markets follow chaotic dynamics, econophysics assumes that asset price dynamics are stochastic processes.
A fundamental commitment of the mainline model of international finance is to theory itself, and not to data. Modelling is devoted to equipping the discipline with an underlying rational behaviour at the individual level. Yet this is at odds with the fact that financial markets are prone to collective 'irrational exuberance'. Instead, econophysics attemps to build up stochastic models that encompass essential features observed in the financial data. Now that the time evolution of many financial markets is continually monitored, it is possible to test the accuracy and predictive power of the developed models using available data. One common objection to such a practice is that it is impossible to perform large-scale experiments in economics that could falsify any given theory. The authors note that this limitation is not specific to economics, but also affects such well developed areas of physics as astrophysics, atmospheric physics, and geophysics. By analogy with the activity in these more established areas, we are able to test and falsify any theories associated with the current available sets of financial data.
Complex systems can sometimes behave in remarkable simple ways. These are reflected in power law distributions and scaling. The authors illustrate these concepts and others, and apply them to the financial time series. The book is thus useful not only for physicists but also for economists and people in the financial world. Some familiarity with probability theory or statistical physics is required, though. Economists dissatisfied with the mainline approach of their discipline will find the book opportune. The others might end up welcoming econophysics as well. After all, economists implicitly see physics as nature's economics. What is then wrong with physicists thinking of economics as social physics?
Book Description
Numerical Methods in Astrophysics: An Introduction outlines various fundamental numerical methods that can solve gravitational dynamics, hydrodynamics, and radiation transport equations. This resource indicates which methods are most suitable for particular problems, demonstrates what the accuracy requirements are in numerical simulations, and suggests ways to test for and reduce the inevitable negative effects. After an introduction to the basic equations and derivations, the book focuses on practical applications of the numerical methods. It explores hydrodynamic problems in one dimension, N-body particle dynamics, smoothed particle hydrodynamics, and stellar structure and evolution. The authors also examine advanced techniques in grid-based hydrodynamics, evaluate the methods for calculating the gravitational forces in an astrophysical system, and discuss specific problems in grid-based methods for radiation transfer. The book incorporates brief user instructions and a CD-ROM of the numerical codes, allowing readers to experiment with the codes to suit their own needs. With numerous examples and sample problems that cover a wide range of current research topics, this highly practical guide illustrates how to solve key astrophysics problems, providing a clear introduction for graduate and undergraduate students as well as researchers and professionals.
Customer Reviews:
Extremely good introduction!.......2007-09-22
This is an extremely well written introduction to a rapidly developing field. The authors cover a broad swath of topics, providing a clear understanding of the physical principles underlying numerical astrophysics. Such a focus on basic principles and physical understanding ensures that one does not lose sight of the forest for the trees. I recommend this book highly for graduate students in astrophysics, as well as active researchers in the field who want a quick overview before going into the details.
HUGE disappointment.......2007-04-08
I was really looking forward to this title, hoping in a book that would go beyond the usual toy problems of typical standard numerical simulations books. Also knowing that this book included real working code I was also hoping it would bridge the huge gap between theory and practice with a practical approach. Boy, was I mistaken. hard to believe, but there is not a single line of code in this book! The numerical codes in Fortran (yuk) are just dumped in the CD and superficially described (just barely saying what it does and what the input and output are) in a final 10 pages ( yes, you read that well, 10 pages) "chapter" that looks more like an appendix to anyone with a little common sense. I know college professors can be a bit disoriented about what is important and what not in their field of research (I still my quantum mechanics prof. employed approximately the same time to try to explain us while there are 2n+1 numbers between n and -n and to introduce us to Fourier Transforms) but this is really too much! The bunch of theory and equations that this book is littered is totally useless unless you show me how these equations get implemented in code.
And if I have to wade through the code in a CD trying to figure it out by myself, what is the value of buying this book? Given this approach , I really pity the grad students of these guys...
Average customer rating:
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Introduction to the Replica Theory of Disordered Statistical Systems (Collection Alea-Saclay: Monographs and Texts in Statistical Physics)
Viktor Dotsenko
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521773407 |
Book Description
This text describes the statistical mechanics of classical spin systems with quenched disorder. The first part covers the physics of spin-glass states using results obtained within the framework of the mean field theory of spin glasses. The second part is devoted to the theory of critical phenomena in the presence of weak quenched disorder. This includes a systematic derivation of the traditional renormalization group theory. In the third part Dotsenko describes other types of disordered systems, relating them to new results at the frontiers of modern research. The book is suitable for graduate students and researchers in the field of statistical mechanics of disordered systems.
Average customer rating:
- Fantastic - for the scientist
- a book worth keeping
- Phenomenal
- You should buy this, despite its flaws
- The perfect first book in differential geometry
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The Geometry of Physics: An Introduction
Theodore Frankel
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Similar Items:
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Geometry, Topology and Physics, Second Edition (Graduate Student Series in Physics)
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Geometrical Methods of Mathematical Physics
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General Relativity
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Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, and Some of Their Applications
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Advanced Calculus: A Differential Forms Approach
ASIN: 0521387531 |
Book Description
This book is intended to provide a working knowledge of those parts of exterior differential forms, differential geometry, algebraic and differential topology, Lie groups, vector bundles and Chern forms that are essential for a deeper understanding of both classical and modern physics and engineering. Included are discussions of analytical and fluid dynamics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, the deformation tensors of elasticity, soap films, special and general relativity, the Dirac operator and spinors, and gauge fields, including Yang-Mills, the Aharonov-Bohm effect, Berry phase, and instanton winding numbers. Before discussing abstract notions of differential geometry, geometric intuition is developed through a rather extensive introduction to the study of surfaces in ordinary space; consequently, the book should also be of interest to mathematics students. This book will be useful to graduate and advanced undergraduate students of physics, engineering and mathematics. It can be used as a course text or for self study.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic - for the scientist.......2007-07-18
A very good book: buy it. But only if you are a scientist or student of physics/mathematics. This is not popular-science-common-public level.
a book worth keeping.......2007-05-01
This book can be quite confusing if you start without any background on the idea of manifold or knows nothing about general relativity. However, it does have strong points:
1. The notation is very up-to-date, and is entirely coordinate-independant approach.
2. The author explains in great details of formulation of modern differential geometry, and the details are comparatively lacking in other reference books.
3. The author never hesitate to use graphs and diagrams to illustrate points, and stroke nice balance in between mathematics rigor and physical insight.
Although it appears quite verbose at some point, it is mainly because differential geometry is such a heavy subject. Another book nice to have as companion reading is Goldburg's "Tensor analysis on Manifold", a terse, well-written text book.
Phenomenal .......2006-11-13
I just finished reading this book and I found it phenomenal. The physical ideas are made very clear in a natural mathematical framework.
You should buy this, despite its flaws.......2006-03-03
The other reviews on this page give this book anywhere from 1 to 5 stars, and they are all correct in their own way. The book is inspired, deep and full of physics applications and insights. On the other hand, it skims over mathematical rigor to a large degree and focuses more on defining things, getting a feel for them and moving on to application.
My advice: buy the book for its strengths, and read other books in parallel if you need more rigor. But still, buy it.
Also, things can be confusing on the first two or three reads, but keep at it and you will be glad you did.
The perfect first book in differential geometry.......2005-01-28
Differential geometry can be a very intimidating subject due to its heavy formalism. There are complete books (such as Kobayashi& Nomizu) very good as reference books, and there very few books that show the reader the picture behind the formulas.
This is one such book. It tells you the intuition behind each construction and from this point of view it has many things in common with Arnold's famous book on Math. Methods in Classical Mechanics. But where as Arnold does not pay too much attention to formalism, this book achieves this task as well. It shows the reader how to do those impossible computations as well.
This is definitely the first place to look at if you want to really learn differential geometry. If it seems difficult it is only because the subject is so.
Book Description
Most of the numerical predictions of experimental phenomena in particle physics over the last decade have been made possible by the discovery and exploitation of the simplifications that can happen when phenomena are investigated on short distance and time scales. This book provides a coherent exposition of the techniques underlying these calculations. After reminding the reader of some basic properties of field theories, examples are used to explain the problems to be treated. Then the technique of dimensional regularization and the renormalization group. Finally a number of key applications are treated, culminating in the treatment of deeply inelastic scattering.
Customer Reviews:
Very useful for the student who practices renormalization for the first time.......2007-01-18
It really shed light on some concepts that other books simply do not discuss. It is also the only one I know that gives a theoretical basis for understanding dimensional regularization.
Book Description
Thoroughly updated and revised for its second edition, this advanced textbook provides an introduction to the basic methods of computational physics, and an overview of recent progress in several areas of scientific computing. Tao Pang presents many step-by-step examples, including program listings in JavaTM, of practical numerical methods from modern physics and related areas. Now including many more exercises, the volume can be used as a textbook for either undergraduate or first-year graduate courses on computational physics or scientific computation. It will also be a useful reference for anyone involved in computational research.
Customer Reviews:
Computational Physics...more complex than I thought!.......2007-01-09
I have taken only 3 calculus classes at my local college. Differential calculus (rates of change), integral calculus (areas under curves), and matrix/power series calculus (e.g. the taylor series).
Tao Pang introduces a lot of really complex material that is way over my head. But I love to read it anyways, and I highlight the book anyways, because once I _do_ understand what he is talking about in the future, I can go back and say "ooohh right". I mean, I do understand the computing of the integrals and differentiating equations, but it really opens my eyes to see all of these other uses of using using computers to create scientific solutions! It's so much fun to search these concepts up in Wikipedia and Wolfram Mathworld and have them pop up in class.
My goal in life is to become a really good software engineer, or possibly, a really good computational physics scientist dude. The code Tao Pang gives is very precious, and his web site is loaded not only with Java programs but also C and Fortan. I love how he keeps the code short and makes plenty of room in the margins so that I can scribble my own comments and questions. I love how he goes step-by-step with all of the math so you can follow his thinking for a given problem.
What do I not like about this book? Ehh...maybe more pictures would've been nice. But then again, I've always got Google images.
Thorough intro but..........2005-03-25
Altohough I am not a fan of Fortran by any means the book (now that many of the original errors are corrected) is extremely thorough and readable, but be aware this is not necessarily for the neophyte. One MUST have a good knowledge of numerical anlaysis since derivations of relevant formulas is scant. The book's strength lies in the breadth of topics covered, here you will not find the often included "sport physics" chapter as an introduction, rather you are introduced to the most common numerical methods used by scientists when an analytical soultion is not feasible. The book does deal with many problems found int physics from scattering to quantum mechancis and molecular modelling, Monte Carlo methods and some case studies of applied physics e.g the chapter including ground water dynamics. In the last chapters the author wisely introduces symbolic computing using Mathematica as an example and this is applauded as many of us are not willing to reinvent the wheel since there many excellent programs like Maple, MathCad, FemLab etc and an introduction to the like is good. He also discusses parallel computing and this is also welcome as it has gained more prevalent use in computational sciences.
A complaint, since the book claims by its title no less, that it is an introduction to computational physics, there should have been explict chapters on or at least a chapter on Sports Physics, Astronomy, Cellular Automata. That said the case studies on molecular dynamics, nuclear waste storage and chaos are great.
All in all, a solid text but one should be aware of the fact that the author (and to some extent, rightly so) assumes that the reader has a solid grasp of numerical analsyis, calculus and physics. Having said that if you need a really simple and thorough, ground up introduction and haven't taken the aforementioned courses then try Giordano's Computational Physics, be warned if you are like me and can barely tolerate Fortran (I grew up on C/C++) then the True Basic code snippets (for Mac) in Giordano's book will irritate you to no end!!
Book Description
In this lecture note the authors give an introduction to certain global analytic and probabilistic aspects of string theory. It is their intention to bring together, and make explicit, the necessary mathematical tools. Researchers with an interest in string theory, in either mathematics or theoretical physics, will find this a stimulating volume.
Customer Reviews:
unreadable to general public.......2002-02-27
authors never mention about the prerequisites but the book is not accessible to ordinary graduate students of math or physics. reader should be able to use a research library which contains references listed in the book. the title must be mathematical aspects not introduction. i recommend preprints of hep-th rather than this highly specialized monograph.
A truly magnificent work.......2000-09-14
it is admirable how the authors managed to introduce such a quantity of material in 85 pages ... a good introduction to contemporary research in the field.
Especially impressive is the the description and use of the Faddeev-Popov procedure in chapter 6.
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