String Theory and the Real World

Length: 175 pages
Edition: S
Language: English
Publisher: Iop Publishing Ltd
Publication Date: 2021-10-30
ISBN-10: 0750335815
ISBN-13: 9780750335812
Sales Rank: #0 (See Top 100 Books)

This book attempts to explain why string theory may provide the comprehensive underlying theory that describes and explains our world. It is an enthusiastic view of how compactified string/M-theories, plus data that may be reachable, seem to have the possibilities of leading to a comprehensive underlying theory of particle physics and cosmology, perhaps soon. We are living in a hugely exciting era for science, one during which it may be possible to achieve a real and true understanding of our physical world.

Founded on three decades of research, this second edition covers the Planck scale, Higgs physics, supersymmetry and supersymmetry breaking, the Hierarchy problem, dark matter, inflation, hidden sectors, future colliders, testing theories in physics, possible limits to understanding, and more.

Key Features

Written by a world-leading authority on compactified string theory
Provides simple and informative explanations of many topics
Accessible to both physicists and general readers interested in string theory
Provides glimpses of future experiments that may provide strong tests of the theory, and experiments that could potentially detect dark matter
The second edition includes new material from compactified M-theory identifying the physical inflaton, explaining the matter asymmetry, mass-energy scales of particle physics and cosmology, cosmological histories, dark matter candidates, supersymmetry breaking, future colliders and possible tests

PRELIMS.pdf
	Preface to second edition
	Preface
	Author biography
		Gordon Kane
CH001.pdf
	Chapter 1 The Standard Models—overview and perspective
		1.1 The large number of solutions to string/M-Theory is not an obstacle to finding a Theory that describes nature
		1.2 String theorists study theories, not phenomena
		1.3 Nutcracker
		1.4 Why the Standard Model is true—it will be extended but not replaced in its domain
		1.5 Experimental confirmations of the Standard Model
		1.6 Theoretical evidence for the Standard Model
		1.7 In recent decades the boundaries of the goals of physics have changed
			The Standard Models
		References
CH002.pdf
	Chapter 2 The Planck scale—compactification—extra dimensions
		References
CH003.pdf
	Chapter 3 Higgs physics: the Hierarchy problem
		Exciting implications of the existence and properties of the observed Higgs boson
CH004.pdf
	Chapter 4 Supersymmetry
		4.1 Supersymmetry as a space–time symmetry—superspace
		4.2 Hidden or ‘broken’ supersymmetry
CH005.pdf
	Chapter 5 Compactification
		5.1 It’s astonishing that a mathematical physics argument has pushed us to think we live in a world with nine or ten space dimensions
		5.2 String theorists study theories, not phenomena
			Generic compactified M-theory results—no parameters (!)
		References
CH006.pdf
	Chapter 6 The visible sector
		6.1 The final theory list
		References
CH007.pdf
	Chapter 7 Anthropic questions and string theory
		New results about ‘anthropic calculations’—Fred Adams, Physics Reports
		Reference
CH008.pdf
	Chapter 8 The scales we need to explain
		8.1 Higgs physics—electroweak symmetry breaking—the supersymmetry Higgs sector
			Other scales
		8.2 Gravitino and heavy superpartners
CH009.pdf
	Chapter 9 Testing theories in physics, including string theories
CH010.pdf
	Chapter 10 Dark matter candidates
		Detecting and studying dark matter
		Reference
CH011.pdf
	Chapter 11 Moduli
		Matter dominated cosmological history
CH012.pdf
	Chapter 12 Hidden sectors
		Reference
CH013.pdf
	Chapter 13 Inflation
CH014.pdf
	Chapter 14 The matter asymmetry
		Reference
CH015.pdf
	Chapter 15 Possible tests soon
		Electric dipole moments
		Reference
CH016.pdf
	Chapter 16 Future colliders?
CH017.pdf
	Chapter 17 Three families, quark mass hierarchies and splittings
		Reference
CH018.pdf
	Chapter 18 How much can we understand?
		Testing string theory and the final theory
			Practical limits?
			The role of extra dimensions
			Implications?
APP1.pdf
	Chapter
APP2.pdf
	Chapter
APP3.pdf
	Chapter
APP4.pdf
	Chapter
GLOSSARY.pdf
	Chapter
		Symbols
		Acronyms