M-theory and Quantum Geometry. This item is unavailable.M-theory and Quantum Geometry

The fundamental structure of matter and spacetime at the shortest length scales remains an exciting frontier of basic research in theoretical physics. A unifying theme in this area is the quantization of geometrical objects. The majority of lectures at the Advanced Study Institute on Quantum Ge­ ometry in Akureyri was on recent advances in superstring theory, which is the leading candidate for a unified description of all known elementary par­ ticles and interactions. The geometric concept of one-dimensional extended objects, or strings, has always been at the core of superstring theory but in recent years the focus has shifted to include also higher-dimensional ob­ jects, so called D-branes, which play a key role in the non-perturbative dynamics of the theory. A related development has seen the strong coupling regime of a given string theory identified with the weak coupling regime of what was previ­ ously believed to be a different theory, and a web of such" dualities" that interrelates all known superstring theories has emerged. The resulting uni­ fied theoretical framework, termed M-theory, has evolved at a rapid pace in recent years.

The fundamental structure of matter and spacetime at the shortest length scales remains an exciting frontier of basic research in theoretical physics. A unifying theme in this area is the quantization of geometrical objects. The majority of contributions to this volume cover recent advances in superstring theory, which is the leading candidate for a unified description of all known elementary particles and interactions. The geometrical concept of one-dimensional extended objects (strings) has always been at the core of superstring theory, but recently the focus has shifted to include higher-dimensional objects (D-branes), which play a key role in non-perturbative dynamics of the theory. Related developments are also described in M-theory, our understanding of quantum effects in black-hole physics, gauge theory of the strong interaction, and the dynamic triangulation construction of the quantum geometry of spacetime.