Datensatz

Zusammenfassung

Summary: The first lecture is of a qualitative nature. We explain the concept and the uses of duality in string theory and field theory. The prospects to understand QCD, the theory of the strong interactions, via string theory are discussed and we mention the AdS/CFT correspondence. In the remaining three lectures we introduce some of the tools which are necessary to understand many (but not all) of the issues which were raised in the first lecture. In the second lecture we give an elementary introduction to string theory, concentrating on those aspects which are necessary for understanding the AdS/CFT correspondence. We present both open and closed strings, introduce D-branes and determine the spectra of the type II string theories in ten dimensions. In lecture three we discuss brane solutions of the low energy effective actions, the type II supergravity theories. In the final lecture we compare the two brane pictures -- D-branes and supergravity branes. This leads to the formulation of the Maldacena conjecture, or the AdS/CFT correspondence. We also give a brief introduction to the conformal group and AdS space.