This book provides a self-contained presentation of supergravity theories from its fundamentals to its most recent union with string and superstring theories, which are also reviewed in a self-contained manner. The subject is presented consistently in a unified geometric formalism, relying on the calculus of exterior forms and the mathematics needed to develop the theory is explained in appropriate chapters.

Self-contained and comprehensive, this definitive new edition provides a complete overview of the intersection of gravity, supergravity, and superstrings.

The joint authors are Riccardo D'Auria, and Pietro Fre. Their ambitious attempt here is to present a self-contained account of the field with sufficient explication to both introduce it and give an advanced treatment. They deal with gravity and differential geometry, the algebraic basis of supersymmetry, supergravity in the rheonomy framework, the role of the scalar fields, Kaluza-Klein supergravity and heterotic superstrings and supergravity. Carefully typed throughout--but typed, with the attendant strain on the eyes (and concentration). A very impressive piece of work (deserving of better than acidic bookpaper). Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Supergravity, together with string theory, is one of the most significant developments in theoretical physics. Written by two of the most respected workers in the field, this is the first-ever authoritative and systematic account of supergravity. The book starts by reviewing aspects of relativistic field theory in Minkowski spacetime. After introducing the relevant ingredients of differential geometry and gravity, some basic supergravity theories (D=4 and D=11) and the main gauge theory tools are explained. In the second half of the book, complex geometry and N=1 and N=2 supergravity theories are covered. Classical solutions and a chapter on AdS/CFT complete the book. Numerous exercises and examples make it ideal for Ph.D. students, and with applications to model building, cosmology and solutions of supergravity theories, it is also invaluable to researchers. A website hosted by the authors, featuring solutions to some exercises and additional reading material, can be found at www.cambridge.org/supergravity.

A unified theory embracing all physical phenomena is a major goal of theoretical physics. In the early 1980s, many physicists looked to eleven-dimensional supergravity in the hope that it might provide that elusive superunified theory. In 1984 supergravity was knocked off its pedestal by ten-dimensional superstrings, one-dimensional objects whose v

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.