String Theory and the Real World : Lecture Notes of the Les Houches Summer School 2007

Print version:

Front cover; String Theory and the Real World: From Particle Physics to Astrophysics; Copyright page; Previous sessions; Organizers; Lecturers; Participants; Foreword; Contents; Course 1. Topics in string phenomenology; 1. Introduction; 2. Framework of low scale strings; 3. Experimental implications in accelerators; 4. Supersymmetry in the bulk and short range forces; 5. Electroweak symmetry breaking; 6. Standard Model on D-branes; 7. Internal magnetic fields; 8. Minimal Standard Model embedding; 9. Moduli stabilization; 10. Gaugino masses and D-term gauge mediation; References. Course 2. Orientifolds, And The Search for the Standard Model in String Theory1. Introduction; 2. What we are looking for; 3. Classification of bottom-up embeddings; 4. Statistics of bottom-up configurations; 5. Top-down configurations and SM spectra; 6. Solutions to the tadpole conditions; 7. Phenomenological implications and the problem of masses; 8. Dependence of the results on the Calabi-Yau topology; References; Course 3. Lectures on Supersymmetry Breaking; 1. Introduction; 2. Semiclassical spontaneous supersymmetry breaking; 3. Supersymmetric QCD; 4. Dynamical supersymmetry breaking. 4. Spontaneous breaking of conformal invariance5. O(N) vector models in d=3: Spontaneous breaking of scale invariance and the vacuum energy; References; Course 7. The Standard Model from D-Branes in String Theory; 1. Introduction; 2. Overview of D-branes; 3. Intersecting D6-branes; 4. Compact four-dimensional models; 5. Orientifold models; 6. Getting just the standard model; 7. Supersymmetric models; Appendix A. Spectrum of open strings; References; Course 8. Non-Renormalisation Theorems in Superstring and Supergravity Theories; 1. Introduction; 2. Ultra-violet divergences. 3. Critical dimension for (logarithmic) ultra-violet divergences4. Higher loop amplitudes in supergravity theories; 5. Duality constraints; 6. The contributions from the one-loop amplitude; 7. The contributions from the two-loop amplitude; 8. Non-renormalisation theorems; Appendix A. The string S-matrix; References; Course 9. Preparing the LHC Experiments for First Data; 1. Introduction; 2. Machine status; 3. The main experimental challenges; 4. ATLAS and CMS; 5. Physics goals and physics potential; 6. Conclusions; References; Course 10. String Theory, Gravity and Experiment; 1. Introduction