String Cosmology Modern String Theory Concepts from the Big Bang to Cosmic Structure

This relatively new field applies equations from string theory to solve the questions of early cosmology, since the standard picture of our universe emerging from a 'big bang' leaves many fundamental issues unanswered. String theory, on the other hand, postulates that fundamental ingredients of nature are not zero-dimensional point particles but tiny one-dimensional filaments. This theory harmoniously unites quantum mechanics and general relativity -- the previously known laws of the small and the large -- which are otherwise incompatible. The field of string cosmology has matured considerably over the past few years, attracting many new adherents. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of the topic, it is difficult for practitioners to be conversant with all the many different aspects. This book thus fills a huge gap by bringing together all the different strains of research into one single volume. The resulting collection of selected articles presents the latest, ongoing results from renowned experts currently working in the field. From the contents: * Introduction to Cosmology and String Theory * String Inflation: Brane Inflation and Inflation from Moduli * Cosmic Superstrings * The CMB as a Possible Probe of String Theory * String Gas Cosmology * Gauge-gravity Duality and String Cosmology * Heterotic M-theory and C A welcome addition to the literature for graduate students, students in astronomy, astronomers, mathematicians and theoretical physicists.

Johanna Erdmenger is a research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Physics, Munich, Germany. She obtained her Ph.D. degree from the University of Cambridge, England, in 1996 and spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at MIT (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) from 1999-2001. She has written over 40 publications in the areas of string theory and quantum field theory, in particular on gauge/gravity dualities and their relation to QCD, on matrix cosmology, on supersymmetry breaking and on field theory methods in condensed matter theory. She has recently been appointed as editor of The European Physical Journal C.