Leonard Susskind: 10 Lectures on String Theory and M-theory
This course was originally presented in Stanford's Continuing Studies program.
Playlist - 10 videos 16 hours
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| Leonard Susskind (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
String theory (with its close relative,
M-theory) is the basis for the most
ambitious theories of the physical world. It has profoundly influenced our understanding of gravity, cosmology, and particle physics.
In this course we will develop the basic theoretical and mathematical ideas, including the string-theoretic origin of gravity, the theory of extra dimensions of space, the connection between strings and black holes, the "landscape" of string theory, and the holographic principle.
In theoretical physics, M-theory is an
extension of string theory in which 11 dimensions of spacetime are identified as 7 higher-dimensions plus the 4 common dimensions (11D st = 7 hd + 4D). Proponents believe that the 11-dimensional theory unites all five 10 dimensional string theories (10D st = 6 hd + 4D) and supersedes them. Though a full description of the theory is not known, the low-entropy dynamics are kn
own to be supergravity interacting with 2- and 5-dimensional membranes.
2. (September 27, 2010) Professor Leonard Susskind discusses how the forces that act upon strings can affect the quantum mechanics. He also reviews many of the theories of relativity that contributed to string theory today.
String theory (with its close relative, M-theory) is the basis for the most ambitious theories of the physical world. It has profoundly influenced our understanding of gravity, cosmology, and particle physics. In this course we will develop the basic theoretical and mathematical ideas, including the string-theoretic origin of gravity, the theory of extra dimensions of space, the connection between strings and black holes, the "landscape" of string theory, and the holographic principle.
3. (October 4, 2010) Professor Leonard Susskind reviews harmonic oscillators, the spin of massless particles (photons and gravitons), the low lying spectrum of strings, the tachyon problem, and the basics of string interactions.
String theory (with its close relative, M-theory) is the basis for the most ambitious theories of the physical world. It has profoundly influenced our understanding of gravity, cosmology, and particle physics. In this course we will develop the basic theoretical and mathematical ideas, including the string-theoretic origin of gravity, the theory of extra dimensions of space, the connection between strings and black holes, the "landscape" of string theory, and the holographic principle.
4. (October 11, 2010) Leonard Susskind gives a lecture on the string theory and particle physics. During this lecture he focuses on closed string theory as opposed to open string theory.
String theory (with its close relative, M-theory) is the basis for the most ambitious theories of the physical world. It has profoundly influenced our understanding of gravity, cosmology, and particle physics. In this course we will develop the basic theoretical and mathematical ideas, including the string-theoretic origin of gravity, the theory of extra dimensions of space, the connection between strings and black holes, the "landscape" of string theory, and the holographic principle.
5. (October 18, 2010) Professor Leonard Susskind delivers a lecture concerning plonck variables and how they relate to string theory in the context of modern physics.
String theory (with its close relative, M-theory) is the basis for the most ambitious theories of the physical world. It has profoundly influenced our understanding of gravity, cosmology, and particle physics. In this course we will develop the basic theoretical and mathematical ideas, including the string-theoretic origin of gravity, the theory of extra dimensions of space, the connection between strings and black holes, the "landscape" of string theory, and the holographic principle.
6. (October 25, 2010) Leonard Susskind focuses on the different dimensions of string theory and the effect it has on the theory.
String theory (with its close relative, M-theory) is the basis for the most ambitious theories of the physical world. It has profoundly influenced our understanding of gravity, cosmology, and particle physics. In this course we will develop the basic theoretical and mathematical ideas, including the string-theoretic origin of gravity, the theory of extra dimensions of space, the connection between strings and black holes, the "landscape" of string theory, and the holographic principle.
7. (November 1, 2010) Leonard Susskind discusses the specifics of strings including Feynman diagrams and mapping particles.
String theory (with its close relative, M-theory) is the basis for the most ambitious theories of the physical world. It has profoundly influenced our understanding of gravity, cosmology, and particle physics. In this course we will develop the basic theoretical and mathematical ideas, including the string-theoretic origin of gravity, the theory of extra dimensions of space, the connection between strings and black holes, the "landscape" of string theory, and the holographic principle.
8. (November 8, 2010) Professor Leonard Susskind covers the history of path/surface integrals; conformal mapping; application of conformal mapping in string scattering.
String theory (with its close relative, M-theory) is the basis for the most ambitious theories of the physical world. It has profoundly influenced our understanding of gravity, cosmology, and particle physics. In this course we will develop the basic theoretical and mathematical ideas, including the string-theoretic origin of gravity, the theory of extra dimensions of space, the connection between strings and black holes, the "landscape" of string theory, and the holographic principle.
9. (November 23, 2010) Leonard Susskind gives a lecture on the constraints of string theory and gives a few examples that show how these work.
String theory (with its close relative, M-theory) is the basis for the most ambitious theories of the physical world. It has profoundly influenced our understanding of gravity, cosmology, and particle physics. In this course we will develop the basic theoretical and mathematical ideas, including the string-theoretic origin of gravity, the theory of extra dimensions of space, the connection between strings and black holes, the "landscape" of string theory, and the holographic principle.
10. (November 30, 2010) Professor Leonard Susskind continues his discussion on T-Duality; explains the theory of D-Branes; models QFT and QCD; and introduces the application of electromagnetism.
String theory (with its close relative, M-theory) is the basis for the most ambitious theories of the physical world. It has profoundly influenced our understanding of gravity, cosmology, and particle physics. In this course we will develop the basic theoretical and mathematical ideas, including the string-theoretic origin of gravity, the theory of extra dimensions of space, the connection between strings and black holes, the "landscape" of string theory, and the holographic principle.
Leonard Susskind (born June 1940) is the Felix Bloch Professor of Theoretical Physics at Stanford University, and Director of the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics. His research interests include string theory, quantum field theory, quantum statistical mechanics and quantum cosmology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences,[4] and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an associate member of the faculty of Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and a distinguished professor of the Korea Institute for Advanced Study.
Susskind is widely regarded as one of the fathers of string theory, having, with Yoichiro Nambu and Holger Bech Nielsen, independently introduced the idea that particles could in fact be states of excitation of a relativistic string. He was the first to introduce the idea of the string theory landscape in 2003.
Susskind was awarded the 1998 J. J. Sakurai Prize.
