Resource Letter NSST-1: The nature and status of string theory

Abstract

This Resource Letter provides a guide to some of 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. Owing to the nature of the subject, even much of the introductory literature is quite technical by the standards of many Resource Letters, requiring prior knowledge of quantum field theory and general relativity. This Resource Letter is thus somewhat different from others. The first part describes a few more popular accounts of string theory, which are primarily addressed to the general public, but those with an understanding of basic physics will be able to read them more deeply and obtain a useful rough orientation to the field. The second part describes resources that are available at the advanced undergraduate level, and the balance describes string resources for more advanced students. The last ranges from general introductions to recent review articles on branes and black holes, gauge/gravity duality, string field theory, noncommutative geometry, non-BPS branes, tachyon condensation, phenomenology, brane worlds, orbifolds, Calabi–Yau manifolds, and holography.