Calabi-yau Manifolds: A Bestiary For Physicists

by Tristan Hubsch

Overview

Calabi-Yau spaces are complex spaces with a vanishing first Chern class, or equivalently, with trivial canonical bundle (canonical class). They are used to construct possibly realistic (super)string models and are thus being studied vigorously in the recent physics literature.In the main part of the Book, collected and reviewed are relevant results on (1) several major techniques of constructing such spaces and (2) computation of physically relevant quantities such as massless field spectra and their Yukawa interactions. Issues of (3) stringy corrections and (4) moduli space and its geometry are still in the stage of rapid and continuing development, whence there is more emphasis on open problems here. Also is included a preliminary discussion of the conjectured universal moduli space and related open problems. Finally, several detailed models and sample computations are included throughout the Book to exemplify the techniques and the general discussion.The Book also contains a Lexicon (28 pages) of 150 assorted terms, key-words and main results and theorems, well suited for a handy reference. Although cross-referenced with the main part of the Book, the Lexicon can also be used independently.The level of mathematics is guided and developed between that of the popular Physics Reports of Eguchi, Gilkey and Hanson and the book Superstrings (Vol. 2) by Green, Schwarz and Witten on one end and Principles of Algebraic Geometry of Griffiths and Harris on the other.This is the first systematic exposition in book form of the material on Calabi-Yau spaces, related mathematics and the physics application, otherwise scattered through research articles in journals and conference proceedings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789810219277
Publisher:	World Scientific Publishing Company, Incorporated
Publication date:	03/01/1992
Pages:	380
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.90(d)

Editorial Reviews

From the author's preface: "New manifolds are being created every moment, joining the menagerie . . . Our task therefore becomes taxonomy in part, guiding the interested reader through the web of known Calabi-Yau manifolds and preparing the more adventurous reader for a voyage into the jungle with many more beasts to be discovered." The focus is on techniques and methods which will have long-lasting application. Acidic paper. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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