The Birth of String Theory

String theory is currently the best candidate for a unified theory of all forces and all forms of matter in nature. As such, it has become a focal point for physical and philosophical discussions. This unique book explores the history of the theory's early stages of development, as told by its main protagonists. The book journeys from the first version of the theory (the so-called dual resonance model) in the late sixties, as an attempt to describe the physics of strong interactions outside the framework of quantum field theory, to its reinterpretation around the mid-seventies as a quantum theory of gravity unified with the other forces, and its successive developments up to the superstring revolution in 1984. Providing important background information to current debates on the theory, this book is essential reading for students and researchers in physics, as well as historians and philosophers of science.

Overview:
Introduction and synopsis
Rise and fall of the hadronic string
Gravity, unification, and the superstring
Early string theory as a challenging case study for philosophers
The Prehistory: The Analytic
Introduction to Part II
Particle theory in the sixties: from current algebra to the Veneziano amplitude
The path to the Veneziano model
Two-component duality and strings
Note on the prehistory of string theory
The Dual Resonance Model:
Introduction to Part III
From the S-matrix to string theory
Reminiscence on the birth of string theory
Personal recollections
Early string theory at Fermilab
Dual amplitudes in higher dimensions: a personal view
Personal recollections on dual models
Remembering the 'supergroup' collaboration
The '3-Reggeon vertex'
The String:
Introduction to Part IV
From dual models to relativistic strings
The first string theory: personal recollections
The string picture of the Veneziano model
From the S-matrix to string theory
The analogue model for string amplitudes
Factorization in dual models and functional integration in string theory
The hadronic origins of string theory
Beyond the Bosonic String:
Introduction to Part V
From dual fermion to superstring
Dual models with fermions: memoirs of an early string theorist
Personal recollections
Aspects of fermionic dual models
The dual quark models
Remembering the dawn of relativistic strings
Early string theory in Cambridge: personal recollections
The Superstring:
Introduction to Part VI
Supersymmetry in string theory
Gravity from strings: personal reminiscences of early developments
From the Nambu-Goto to the ¿-model action
Locally supersymmetric action for superstring
Personal recollections
The scientific contributions of Joël Scherk
Preparing the String Renaissance:
Introduction to Part VII
From strings to superstrings: a personal perspective
Quarks, strings and beyond
The rise of the superstring theory
Appendices
Index
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

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The Birth of String Theory

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials