The past decade has witnessed dramatic developments in the field of theoretical physics. This book is a comprehensive introduction to these recent developments. It contains a review of the Standard Model, covering non-perturbative topics, and a discussion of grand unified theories and magnetic monopoles. It introduces the basics of supersymmetry and its phenomenology, and includes dynamics, dynamical supersymmetry breaking, and electric-magnetic duality. The book then covers general relativity and the big bang theory, and the basic issues in inflationary cosmologies before discussing the spectra of known string theories and the features of their interactions. The book also includes brief introductions to technicolor, large extra dimensions, and the Randall-Sundrum theory of warped spaces. This will be of great interest to graduates and researchers in the fields of particle theory, string theory, astrophysics and cosmology. The book contains several problems, and password protected solutions will be available to lecturers at www.cambridge.org/9780521858410.

Supersymmetry is a symmetry which combines bosons and fermions in the same multiplet of a larger group which unites the transformations of this symmetry with that of spacetime. Thus every bosonic particle must have a fermionic partner and vice versa. Since this is not what is observed, this symmetry with inherent theoretical advantages must be badly broken. It is hoped that the envisaged collider experiments at CERN will permit a first experimental test, which is expected to revive the interest in supersymmetry considerably.This revised edition of the highly successful text of 20 years ago provides an introduction to supersymmetry, and thus begins with a substantial chapter on spacetime symmetries and spinors. Following this, graded algebras are introduced, and thereafter the supersymmetric extension of the spacetime Poincaré algebra and its representations. The Wess-Zumino model, superfields, supersymmetric Lagrangians, and supersymmetric gauge theories are treated in detail in subsequent chapters. Finally the breaking of supersymmetry is addressed meticulously. All calculations are presented in detail so that the reader can follow every step.

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.

This primer is aimed at elevating graduate students of condensed matter theory to a level where they can engage in independent research. Topics covered include second quantisation, path and functional field integration, mean-field theory and collective phenomena.