Many of the topics in this book are outgrowths of the spectacular new understanding of duality in string theory which emerged around 1995. They include the AdS/CFT correspondence and its relation to holography, the matrix theory formulation of M theory, the structure of black holes in string theory, the structure of D-branes and M-branes, and detailed development of dualities with N = 1 and N = 2 supersymmetry. In addition, there are lectures covering experimental and phenomenological aspects of the Standard Model and its extensions, and discussions on cosmology including both theoretical aspects and the exciting new experimental evidence for a non-zero cosmological constant. Contents: TASI Lectures on Branes, Black Holes and Anti-De Sitter Space (M J Duff); D-Brane Primer (C V Johnson); TASI Lectures on Black Holes in String Theory (A W Peet); TASI Lectures: Cosmology for String Theorists (S M Carroll); TASI Lectures on Matrix Theory (T Banks); TASI Lectures on M Theory Phenomenology (M Dine); TASI Lectures: Introduction to the AdS/CFT Correspondence (I R Klebanov); TASI Lectures on Compactification and Duality (D R Morrison); Compactification, Geometry and Duality: N =2 (P S Aspinwall); TASI Lectures on Non-BPS D-Brane Systems (J H Schwarz); Lectures on Warped Compactifications and Stringy Brane Constructions (S Kachru); TASI Lectures on the Holographic Principle (D Bigatti & L Susskind). Readership: Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and researchers in high energy physics.

The NATO Advanced Study Institute and EC Summer School "Progress in String Field and Particle Theory" was held in Cargse from June 25th till July 11th 2002. The main focus of the school was the recent progress in the very ac tive areas of superstring theory, quantum gravity and the theory of elementary particles. It covered topical problems in domains such as duality between gravity and gaugeinteractions, string field theory, tachyon condensation, non-commutative field theory, string cosmology and string phenomenology. The School featured daily introductory lectures and topical seminars. An informal Gong Show session allowed young post-doctoral researchers and senior graduate students to make a concise presentation oftheir current work. The School gave an excellent opportunity to the youngest researchers to establish a close relationship with their seniors and with the lecturers. These proceedings will further serve in fixing the acquired knowledge, and hopefully, become a useful reference for anyone working in this fascinating do main of physics. Some of the contributions provide an elementary introduction to their subject, while other ones are more geared to the specialist. We are deeply indebted to the NATO Division for Scientific Affairs for funding, and for their constant attention for our meetings, and to the European Commission for a High-Level Scientific Conference grant HPCFCT 2001-00298.

The first textbook on this important topic, for graduate students and researchers in particle and condensed matter physics.

The book is based on lectures given at the TASI summer school of 2010. It aims to provide advanced graduate students, postdoctorates and senior researchers with a survey of important topics in particle physics and string theory, with special emphasis on applications of methods from string theory and quantum gravity in condensed matter physics and QCD (especially heavy ion physics).

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.

The contributions to this volume of the famous summer school in Les Houches cover the recent developments in supersymmetric string theory, the gauge theory/string theory correspondence and string duality. The book is a comprehensive introduction to the recent developments in string/M-theory and quantum gravity.

This book covers some recent advances in string theory and extra dimensions. Intended mainly for advanced graduate students in theoretical physics, it presents a rare combination of formal and phenomenological topics, based on the annual lectures given at the School of the Theoretical Advanced Study Institute (2001) — a traditional event that brings together graduate students in high energy physics for an intensive course of advanced learning. The lecturers in the School are leaders in their fields.The first lecture, by E D'Hoker and D Freedman, is a systematic introduction to the gauge-gravity correspondence, focusing in particular on correlation functions in the conformal case. The second, by L Dolan, provides an introduction to perturbative string theory, including recent advances on backgrounds involving Ramond-Ramond fluxes. The third, by S Gubser, explains some of the basic facts about special holonomy and its uses in string theory and M-theory. The fourth, by J Hewett, surveys the TeV phenomenology of theories with large extra dimensions. The fifth, by G Kane, presents the case for supersymmetry at the weak scale and some of its likely experimental consequences. The sixth, by A Liddle, surveys recent developments in cosmology, particularly with regard to recent measurements of the CMB and constraints on inflation. The seventh, by B Ovrut, presents the basic features of heterotic M-theory, including constructions that contain the Standard Model. The eighth, by K Rajagopal, explains the recent advances in understanding QCD at low temperatures and high densities in terms of color superconductivity. The ninth, by M Sher, summarizes grand unified theories and baryogenesis, including discussions of supersymmetry breaking and the Standard Model Higgs mechanism. The tenth, by M Spiropulu, describes collider physics, from a survey of current and future machines to examples of data analyses relevant to theories beyond the Standard Model. The eleventh, by M Strassler, is an introduction to supersymmetric gauge theory, focusing on Wilsonian renormalization and analogies between three- and four-dimensional theories. The twelfth, by W Taylor and B Zwiebach, introduces string field theory and discusses recent advances in understanding open string tachyon condensation. The thirteenth, by D Waldram, discusses explicit model building in heterotic M-theory, emphasizing the role of the E8 gauge fields.The written presentation of these lectures is detailed yet straightforward, and they will be of use to both students and experienced researchers in high-energy theoretical physics for years to come.The proceedings have been selected for coverage in:• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)• CC Proceedings — Engineering & Physical Sciences