Resource Letter: The Nature and Status of String Theory
Donald M. Marolf · arXiv (Cornell University) · 2003
This Resource Letter provides a guide to some of the the introductory and review literature in string theory. It is in no way complete, though it is intended to be of use to students at several levels. Due to the nature of the subject, even much of the introductory literature is quite technical by the standards of many AJP Resource letters, requiring prior knowledge of quantum field theory and/or general relativity. This resource letter is thus somewhat different from others in the series. The first part of the letter describes a few more popular accounts of string theory. Such accounts are primarily addressed to the general public, but those with an understanding of basic physics will be able to read them more deeply and so obtain a useful rough orientation to the field. The rest of this letter describes resources for more advanced students ranging from general introductions to string theory to recent review articles on branes and black holes, gauge/gravity duality, string field theory, non-commutative geometry, non-BPS branes, tachyon condensation, phenomenology, brane worlds, orbifolds, and holography.