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Glossary of string theoryWikipedia
This page is a glossary of terms in string theory, including
related areas such as supergravity, supersymmetry, andhigh energy
physics.Contents :
Conventions !$@ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
1
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2 2
W XYZ See also References
1 Conventions-bein A sux indicating a frame, where the rst part
is a German word indicating the dimension (as in zweibein,
vierbein, and so on).
-ino The superpartners of bosons are often denoted by the sux
-ino; for example, photon/photino.
s- The superpartners of fermions are often denoted by adding s-
at the beginning; for example, quark/squark.
2 1. Fine-structure constant
2. Regge slope, or inverse of the string tension
3. A Fourier coecient of a spacetime coordinate.
4. s is the strong coupling constant
1. One of the two conformal superghost elds , used in the BRST
quantization of the superstring
2. Euler beta function
3. Beta function describing the change of coupling constant
under the renormalization group ow
1. Dirac matrix
2. One of the two conformal superghost elds , used in the BRST
quantization of the superstring
3. World-sheet metric ab(,)
4. Photon
5. Euler constant .57721...
1. Lattice
2. Euler Gamma function
3. Dirac matrix
4. Width of some scattering process
1. Kronecker delta function
2. An innitesimal change in something; for example L is an
innitesimal change in L
1. Propagator
2. Delta baryon, a baryon with 3 light quarks and isospin
3/2
3. Laplace operator in Euclidean space or more generally a
Riemannian manifold
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3 1. Small positive real number
2. Antisymmetric tensor
1. Flat Lorentzian metric on spacetime
2. Dedekind eta function, a weight 1/2 modular form
3. Neutral avor meson with PC= +
1. Theta function
2. is the Cabbibo angle
3. is the Weinberg angle, also called the weak mixing angle
Cosmological constant
2. Large energy or large mass cuto in regularization
3. Lambda baryon, a baryon with 2 light quarks and isospin 0
1. Renormalization scale, with the dimensions of mass
2. Muon
Neutrino
1. Xi baryon, a baryon with 1 light quark
1. 3.14159...
2. Pion
The momentum density conjugate to X
Rho meson, a light meson with PC=
1. Spacelike coordinate on the world-sheet
2. Scattering cross section
3. Pauli matrix
4. See #sigma model
1. Sigma baryon, a baryon with 2 light quarks and isospin 1
1. Timelike coordinate on the world-sheet
2. Element of the upper half plane
3. Tauon
Upsilon meson (bb)
Scalar eld
Neutral-avor heavy meson with PC= ++
1. Spinor eld
2. Psi meson (cc)
1. Density of something in the universe; for example, is the
neutrino density
2. Omega baryon, a baryon with no light quarks
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4 4 A
3 !$@' (prime) X means X/.
dot above letter means X/
1. A covariant derivative
2. The del operator.
The D'Alembert operator, or non-Euclidean Laplacian.
[,] A commutator: [A,B] = ABBA.
{,} An anticommutator: {A,B} = AB+BA.
4 AA 1. A connection 1-form
2. Short for antiperiodic, a boundary condition on strings.
3. Short for axial vector
4. An asymmetry
action Main article: action (physics)A function S on the space
of elds given (formally) by the integral of the Lagrangian density
over spacetime,whose stationary points are the solutions of the
equations of motion.
ADE Main article: ADE classicationRefers to the ADE classication
(An,D, E6, E7, E8) of simply laced Dynkin diagrams, and to several
relatedclassications of Lie algebras, singularities and so on.
ADHM Initials of Atiyah, Drinfeld, Hitchin, and Manin, as in the
ADHM construction of instantons.
ADM Initials of Arnowitt, Deser, and Misner, as in ADM energy, a
way of dening the global energy in an asymp-totically at spacetime,
or ADM decomposition of a metric, or ADM formalism.
AdS Anti-de Sitter, as in anti-de Sitter space, a Lorentzian
analogue of hyperbolic space
AdS/CFT Anti-de Sitter/conformal eld theory, especially the
AdS/CFT correspondence.
ALE Asymptotically locally Euclidean
ALEPH ALEPH experiment at LEP
AMSB Anomaly mediation supersymmetry breaking
ASD Anti self-dual (connection)
ATLAS The ATLAS experiment at CERN, a particle detector.
axino Main article: AxinoA hypothetical supersymmetric partner
of an axion.
axion Main article: AxionA hypothetical scalar particle whose
mass arises from a coupling rather than from a mass term in the
La-grangian, used to resolve the strong CP problem.
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55 Bb 1. One of the two conformal ghost elds b, c used in the
BRST quantization of the bosonic string.2. A bottom quark.B 1.
Baryon number2. Short for boson.3. Short for baryon.4. Short for
backward;for example, B is the cross section for backward
scattering.5. a bottom meson.BAO Baryon acoustic oscillationBB Big
BangBBN Big Bang nucleosynthesisbino Main article: gaugino
A hypothetical supersymmetric partner of the gauge eld
corresponding to weak hypercharge.BIon A BPS solution representing
an innite string ending on a D-brane. Named after the BornInfeld
action.BPS Main article: BPS state
A state related to the Bogomol'nyiPrasadSommereld bound.BR
Branching ratioBRSBRST quantization Main article: BRST
quantization
Short for Becchi, Rouet, Stora and Tyutin, who introduced the
BRST quantization of gauge theories.brane Short for membrane. a
higher-dimensional manifold moving in spacetime. See also p-brane,
D-brane.BTZ Initials of BaadosTeitelboimZanelli, as in BTZ black
hole, a black hole in 2+1-dimensional gravity.BV BatalinVilkovisky,
as in BatalinVilkovisky formalism.
6 Cc 1. The speed of light, when not using units where this is
1.2. A central charge of the Virasoro algebra or similar algebra.3.
One of the two conformal ghost elds b, c used in the BRST
quantization of the bosonic string.4. A Chern class.5. A charm
quark.C 1. Charge, especially the charge symmetry.CalabiYau Main
article: CalabiYau manifold
A Khler manifold with vanishing Ricci curvature, used for
compactifying string theories.CAR Canonical anticommutation
relationsCBR Cosmic background radiationCC 1. Charged current (weak
interaction).2. Complex conjugate
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6 6 C
3. Compatibility conditionCCR Canonical commutation relationCCR
and CAR algebrasCDF Collider Detector at FermilabCDM Cold dark
matterCERN Conseil Europen pour la Recherche Nuclairechargino Main
article: chargino
A hypothetical charged supersymmetric partner of a gauge
boson.ChernSimons 1.
Main article: ChernSimons theory
2.Main article: ChernSimons form
chiral 1. Not invariant under the parity symmetry. The word
comes from the Greek meaning hand"; the termsleft-handed and
right-handed are often used to describe chiral objects.Main
article: Chirality (physics)
2. A chiral multiplet is a type of supermutliplet of a
supersymmetry algebra.CIPT Contour improved perturbation theoryCKG
Short for conformal Killing group.CKM The CabibboKobayashiMaskawa
matrix.CKS Short for conformal Killing spinor.CKV Short for
conformal Killing vector.CFT Conformal eld theoryChanPaton A
ChanPaton charge is a degree of freedom carried by an open string
on its endpoints.cl 1. Short for classical (for example, Scl is the
classical action).2. CL is short for condence limit.closed A closed
string is one with no ends.CM Center of mass (frame)CMBCMBR Cosmic
microwave background radiationCMS 1. The Compact Muon Solenoid at
CERN, a particle detector.2. Short for the Center-of-Momentum
System, a coordinate system where the total momentum is
0.compactication A method for reducing the apparent dimension of
spacetime by wrapping the string around a
compact manifold.cosmological constant Main article:
cosmological constant
The constant term of the Lagrangian, inducing a term in the
action proportional to the volume of spacetimeCP Short for
ChargeParity, as in CP symmetry.CPC Short for ChargeParity
conservation.
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7CPT Short for ChargeParityTime, as in CPT symmetry or CPT
theorem.CPV Short for ChargeParity violation.critical The critical
dimension is the spacetime dimension in which a string or
superstring theory is consistent;
usually 26 for string theories and 10 for superstring
theories.CVC Conserved vector current.CY Short for CalabiYau, as in
CalabiYau manifold, a Ricci-at Khler manifold, often used for
compactifying
superstring theories.
7 Dd 1. The exterior derivative of a form.2. A down quark.3. The
dimension of spacetime.D 1. Short for Dirichlet, as in D-brane2.
The dimension of spacetime3. A connection or dierential operator4.
A Dynkin diagram of an orthogonal group in even dimensions.5. A
charmed meson.D0 Main article: D experiment
D-braneDp-brane Main article: D-brane
Short for Dirichlet (mem)brane, a submanifold (of dimension p+1)
on which the ends of strings are constrainedto lie, so that the
strings satisfy Dirichlet boundary conditions.
D-string A D1-braneDBI Short for DiracBornInfeld, as in the DBI
action, an action based on the BornInfeld action, a modication
of the Maxwell action of electrodynamics.DDF Initials of Del
Guidice, Di Vecchia, and Fubini, as in Del GuidiceDi VecchiaFubini
operator, operators
generating an oscillator algebra.DELPHI DELPHI experiment at
LEP.DESY Deutsches Elektronen-SynchrotronDGLAP Initials of
DokshitzerGribovLipatovAltarelliParisi who introduced the DGLAP
evolution equation in
QCD.Di Dieomorphism or dieomorphism group.dilatino Main article:
dilatino
A supersymmetric partner of the dilaton.dilaton Main article:
dilaton
A massless scalar particle, related to dilations of
spacetime.Dirichlet Dirichlet boundary conditions on an open string
say that the ends of the string are xed (often lying on a
D-brane).DIS Deep inelastic scattering
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8 8 E
DLCQ Discrete light-cone quantization
DM Dark matter
D Main article: D experiment
Dp-brane Main article: D-braneShort for Dirichlet (mem)brane, a
submanifold (of dimension p+1) on which the ends of strings are
constrainedto lie, so that the strings satisfy Dirichlet boundary
conditions.
DR 1. Short for dimensional regularization.
2. Short for dimensional reduction, a way of constructing
theories from simpler theories in higher dimensions,sometimes by
making elds invariant under some spacelike translations.
dS de Sitter, as in de Sitter space, a Lorentzian analogue of a
sphere
dS/CFT de Sitter/conformal eld theory, especially the dS/CFT
correspondence.
dual resonance model Main article: Dual resonance modelAn early
precursor of string theory.
duality Main article: String dualityA hidden connection between
two dierent theories, such as S-duality, T-duality, U-duality,
mysterious duality.
DY Initials of DrellYan, as in DY process.
dyon Main article: DyonA hypothetical particle with both
electrical and magnetic charge.
8 Ee 1. Eulers constant
2. A frame
3. An electron
E Energy
E Main article: E6 (mathematics)The exceptional Lie algebra of
rank 6 and dimension 78.
E Main article: E7 (mathematics)The exceptional Lie algebra of
rank 7 and dimension 133.
E Main article: E8 (mathematics)The exceptional Lie algebra of
rank 8 and dimension 248.
e Short for eective (eld theory).
EFT Eective eld theory, a low-energy approximation to a
theory.
einbein A frame in 1 dimension
elfbein A frame in 11 dimensions
energymomentum tensor Main article: Energymomentum tensorA
symmetric tensor T (also called the stress-energy tensor)
describing the variation of the action under changesin the metric,
whose components give the local energy, momentum and stress
densities. In at spacetimes itcan also be given by combining the
Noether currents of the translation symmetries.
EWSB Electro-weak symmetry breaking.
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99 FF 1. A curvature form of a connection
2. The world-sheet fermion number.
3. Short for fermion
3. Short for forward;for example, F is the cross section for
backward scattering.
F Main article: F4 (mathematics)The exceptional Lie algebra of
rank 4 and dimension 52.
FCNC Flavor-changing neutral current.
eld A section of a ber bundle
FOPT Fixed-order perturbation theory.
F-string Fundamental string
F-theory Main article: F-theoryPossibly an abbreviation of
father theory. A 12-dimensional string theory introduced by
Vafa.
FRW FriedmanRobertsonWalker metric on spacetime
10 Gg 1. A metric
2. A coupling constant
3. The genus of a Riemann surface.
4. A gluon.
G 1. Newtons gravitational constant, sometimes written GN.
2. The Fermi coupling constant for weak interactions, sometimes
written GF.
3. Gn is an odd element of the Ramond or NeveuSchwarz
superalgebra.
G Main article: G2 (mathematics)The exceptional Lie algebra of
rank 2 and dimension 14, or a G2 manifold with G holonomy.
gaugino A spin 1/2 supersymmetric partner of a gauge boson.
gh Abbreviation for ghost; for example, Sgh is the ghost
action.
ghost A vector of negative norm.
GKO Short for GoddardKentOlive. The GKO construction, also
called the coset construction, is a way of con-structing unitary
discrete series representations of the Virasoro algebra.
GL A general linear group.
gluino Main article: gluinoA hypothetical supersymmetric partner
of a gluon.
gluon Main article: gluonA gauge boson associated with the
strong force.
GMSB Gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking.
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10 11 H
goldstino Main article: goldstinoA massless spin 1/2 particle
associated with spontaneous breakdown of supersymmetry, analogous
to theGoldstone boson.
GR General relativity
graviton Main article: gravitonA conjectural spin 2 massless
particle responsible for gravity.
gravitino Main article: gravitinoA supersymmetric partner of the
graviton.
Green Named for Michael Green.
GS GreenSchwarz formalism, a way of incorporating supersymmetry
into string theory that is supersymmetric in10-dimensional
spacetime.
GSO Short for Ferdinando Gliozzi, Jol Scherk, and David A.
Olive, as in the GSO projection, a projection insuperstring theory
that eliminates tachyons.
GSW The 2-volume work on superstring theory by Green, Schwarz,
and Witten.
GUT Grand unied theory, a hypothetical theory unifying the
strong and electroweak forces.
GWS GlashowWeinbergSalem theory of the electroweak force.
GZK The GreisenZatsepinKuzmin limit on the energy of cosmic
background radiation from distant sources.
11 Hh 1. The weight of a eld (for example, its eigenvalue for
L0).
2. Hermitian; for example, h.c. stands form hermitian
conjugate.
H 1. The Hamiltonian.
2. The Higgs boson.
3. The Hubble constant.
HaagLopuszanskiSohnius theorem Main article:
HaagLopuszanskiSohnius theoremA theorem describing the possible
supersymmetries of a quantum eld theory, generalizing the
ColemanMandula theorem.
Hagedorn temperature Main article: Hagedorn temperatureThe
temperature above which the partition function diverges due to the
exponentially increasing number ofstring states.
h.c.
hc Hermitian conjugate
HCMS Hadronic center of mass (frame)
HDM Higgs doublet model
HE Short for heterotic-E28, a heterotic string theory based on
the group E28.
helicity Main article: Helicity (particle physics)The projection
of the spin of a massless particle in the direction of its
momentum.
HERA Hadron Elektron Ring Anlage
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11
heterotic Main article: heterotic stringNamed after the Greek
word heterosis, meaning hybrid vigour. A hybrid of bosonic string
theory and super-string theory, introduced by David Gross, Jerey
Harvey, Emil Martinec, and Ryan Rohm in 1985.
Higgs boson Main article: Higgs bosonA massive scalar particle
related to the spontaneous symmetry breaking mechanism in the
electroweak theory.
Higgsino Main article: HiggsinoA hypothetical supersymmetric
partner of a Higgs boson.
HO Short for heterotic-orthogonal, a heterotic string theory
based on the orthogonal group O32(R).
holographic principle Main article: Holographic principle
HQET Heavy quark eective theory
Hyperkhler
Hyperkaehler Main article: Hyperkhler manifoldA Riemannian
manifold with holonomy contained in the compact form of the
symplectic group.
Hypermultiplet Main article: HypermultipletA type of
supermultiplet (representation) of an extended supersymmetry
algebra.
12 Ii 1
I Isospin.
IGM Intergalactic medium
ination Main article: Ination (cosmology)A hypothetical very
rapid increase in the size of the very early universe.
instanton Main article: InstantonA self-dual or anti-self-dual
connection in a principal bundle over a four-dimensional Riemannian
manifold.
int Short for interaction; for example, H might be an
interaction Hamiltonian.
inv Short for invisible; for example, is the width for invisible
decays (those unobseverd by an experiment).
13 JJ 1. A current
2. A source
3. Spin.
14 Kk A momentum
K A kaon (a strange meson).
K3 Main article: K3 surfaceA simply connected compact complex
surface of Kodaira dimension 0
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12 15 L
K-theory Main articles: K-theory and K-theory (physics)A
cohomology theory based on vector bundles.
KacMoody algebra Main article: KacMoody algebraA central
extension of a loop algebra.
KhlerKaehler Named after Erich Khler1. A Khler manifold is a
complex manifold with a compatible Riemannian metric.2. A Khler
metric is the metric on a Khler manifold.3. A Khler potential is a
function of superelds used to construct a Lagrangian.KalbRamond eld
Main article: KalbRamond eld
KK KaluzaKleinKM 1. The KobayashiMaskawa mechanism for CP
violation.2. KacMoody algebra.KZ Initials of Knizhnik and
Zamolodchikov, as in KZ equation, a dierential equation related to
the primary elds
of a current algebra.
15 LL 1. A Lagrangian2. Ln is an element of the Virasoro
algebra.3. An abbreviation for left (moving modes).4. Lepton
number5. Short for leptonL3 L3 experiment at LEP.Lagrangian Main
article: Lagrangian
A function on the jet space of a ber bundle.landscape Main
article: String theory landscape
The (conjectural) moduli space of all (vacuums of) string
theories.LEP The Large ElectronPositron Collider at CERN.lepton
Main article: lepton
A elementary particle of spin 1/2 that is unaected by the strong
force.LH Left-handedLHC The large hadron collider at CERN.little
string theory Main article: Little string theory
LL Double logarithmicLO Leading order (term)LQG Loop quantum
gravityLQC Loop quantum cosmologyLSP Abbreviation for lightest
supersymmetric particle.LSS Large scale structure (of the
universe).
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16 Mm A mass of a fermion. For example, mt is the mass of the
top quark t.M The mass of a boson; for example, MZ is the mass of
the Z-boson.Majorana fermionMajorana spinor Main articles: Majorana
fermion and Majorana spinor
A fermion or spinor with a reality condition, in spacetimes of
dimension 2, 3, 4 mod 8.MajoranaWeyl fermionMajoranaWeyl spinor
Main articles: MajoranaWeyl fermion and MajoranaWeyl spinor
A half-spinor with a reality condition, in spacetimes of
dimension 2 mod 8.Mandelstam variable Main article: Mandelstam
variables
A sum or dierence of two of the four incoming or outgoing
momenta of a 2-particle interaction.matrix theoryM(atrix) theory
Main article: Matrix string theory
One of several non-perturbative formulations of string theory or
M-theory using innite matrices.M-branemembrane Main article:
Membrane (M-theory)
A higher dimensional analogue of a string.MC Monte Carlo
integrationMCG Main article: Mapping class group
minimal model Certain solvable conformal eld theories.Mirror
symmetry (string theory) Main article: Mirror symmetry (string
theory)
A partly conjectural relation between a type IIA superstring
theory compactied on a CalabiYau manifoldand a type IIB superstring
theory compactied on a dierent mirror CalabiYau manifold.
MLLA Modied leading logarithm approximation.MNS
MakiNakagawaSakata matrix for neutrino mixingmonopole Main
articles: Magnetic monopole, Dirac monopole, WuYang monopole, 't
HooftPolyakov monopole,
Seiberg-Witten monopole and Monopole (mathematics)A hypothetical
particle similar to a magnet with only one pole.
MontonenOlive duality Main article: MontonenOlive dualityAn
early case of S-duality.
MS minimal subtraction (a renormalization scheme). MS is the
modied minimal subtraction scheme.MSM Abbreviation for minimal
standard model.MSSM Abbreviation for minimal supersymmetric
standard model.mSUGRA Minimal model of supergravity.M-theory Main
article: M-theory
An 11-dimensional theory introduced in the second string theory
revolution to unify the 5 known superstringtheories. The letter M
has been said to stand for membrane, matrix, magic, mystery,
monster, and so on.
MSW MikheyevSmirnovWolfenstein eect concerning neutrino
oscillations in matter.multiplet A linear representation of a Lie
algebra or group.A collection of elementary particles corresponding
to a basis of a representation.
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14 17 N
17 NN 1. The number of times each irreducible real spinor
representation appears in the fermionic part of a supersymmetry
algebra or super Minkowski space. It is often used in the
description of an extended supersymmetry algebra,as in N=2
superconformal algebra and so on.
2. A nucleon, a baryon with 3 light quarks and isospin 1/2 (such
as a proton or neutron).
3. The number of some type of particle.
NambuGoto action Main article: NambuGoto actionAn action for
strings, proportional to the area of the worldsheet.
NC Neutral current (weak interaction).
Neumann Neumann boundary conditions on an open string say that
the momentum normal to the boundary of theworld-sheet is zero.
neutralino Main article: NeutralinoA hypothetical supersymmetric
partner of a gauge boson with zero charge.
Neveu Named for Andr Neveu.
NeveuSchwarz algebra Main article: NeveuSchwarz algebraA
supersymmetric extension of the Virasoro algebra, similar to the
Ramond algebra.
NG 1. Short for NambuGoto, as in NambuGoto action.
2. Short for NambuGoldstone, as in NambuGoldstone boson.
NLL Next to leading logarithmic (term).
NLO Next to leading order (term).
NLSP next-to-lightest sypersymmetric particle
NMSSM Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.
NNLL Next to next to leading logarithmic (term).
NNLO Next to next to leading order (term).
NNNLL Next to next to next to leading logarithmic (term).
no-ghost theorem Main article: No-ghost theoremA theorem stating
that some hermitian form is positive semidenite, in other words has
no ghosts (negativenorm vectors). The name is a word-play on no-go
theorem.
NR Non-relativistic
NRQCD Non-relativistic quantum chromodynamics
NS NeveuSchwarz, especially the NeveuSchwarz algebra
NSNS A sector with NeveuSchwarz conditions on left and right
moving modes.
NSR A sector with NeveuSchwarz conditions on left moving modes
and Ramond conditions on right movingmodes.
NUT The initials of E. Newman, L. Tamburino, and T. Unti, mainly
used in TaubNUT vacuum, a solution toEinsteins equations.
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15
18 OO An orthogonal groupOCQ Short for old covariant
quantizationOPAL The OPAL detector at LEP.open An open string is
one with two ends.OPEoperator product expansion Main article:
Operator product expansion
A description of short-distance singularities of elds.orbifold
Main article: orbifold
Something that looks locally like a manifold quotiented by the
action of a nite group.OSp A Lie superalgebra.
19 Pp A momentumP 1. Parity, especially the parity symmetry.2.
Short for periodic, a boundary condition on strings (as opposed to
A for antiperiodic).3. Pseudoscalar (current)4. Momentum5. One of
the bosonic elements of a supersymmetry algebra.
p-brane A p+1 dimensional membrane, where p is a non-negative
integer. The dimension of membranes is oftengiven by their space
dimension, which is 1 less than their full spacetime dimension.
PCAC partially conserved axial vector currentPDF Parton
distribution function.PDG Particle Data Group.photino Main article:
photino
A hypothetical supersymmetric partner of the photon.photon Main
article: photon
The neutral spin 1 gauge boson of the electromagnetic eld.PMNS
PontecorvoMakiNakagawaSakata matrix for neutrino mixingPolyakov
action Main article: Polyakov action
A modication of the NambuGoto action for strings that eliminates
the square root.PQ PecceiQuinn, as in PecceiQuinn theory.pQCDPQCD
Perturbative quantum chromodynamics.prepotential A function used to
construct the vector supereld in supersymmetric gauge theory and
SeibergWitten
theory.primary eld A eld killed by the positive weight operators
of the Virasoro algebra (or similar algebra); in other
words, a lowest weight vector.Princeton string quartet
DavidGross, JereyHarvey, EmilMartinec, andRyanRohm, who introduced
the heterotic
string in 1985.PSL Projective special linear group.
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16 21 R
20 Qq A quark.Q 1. The BRST operator.2. A charge3. One of the
fermionic generators of a supersymmetry algebra.quark Main article:
quark
A strongly interacting elementary particle of spin 1/2.QCD Main
article: Quantum chromodynamics
QED Main article: Quantum electrodynamics
21 RR 1. Short for Ramond, as in Ramond sector.2. A curvature
tensor
Main articles: Scalar curvature, Ricci curvature and Riemann
curvature
3. An abbreviation for right (moving modes).4. A radius5.
R-symmetry is a symmetry of extended supersymmetry algebras.Ramond
Named for Pierre Ramond.Ramond algebra Main article: Ramond
algebra
A supersymmetric extension of the Virasoro algebra, similar to
the NeveuSchwarz algebra.RaritaSchwinger Main articles:
RaritaSchwinger equation and RaritaSchwinger eld
Refers to spin 3/2 fermions.Regge 1. Physicist Tullio Regge.2.
Regge trajectory: the squared mass of a hadronic resonance is
roughly linear in the spin, with the constant of
proportionality called the Regge slope.revolution Any new idea
in string theory. In particular the rst superstring revolution
refers to the discoveries in
the mid 1980s such as the cancellation of gravitational
anomalies and the heterotic string, and the secondsuperstring
revolution refers to the discoveries in the mid 1990s, such as
D-branes, M-theory, and matrixtheory and the AdS/CFT
correspondence.
RG Renormalization group.RGE Renormalization group equation.RH
Right-handedRNS A sector with Ramond conditions on left moving
modes and NeveuSchwarz conditions on right moving
modes.RNS RamondNeveuSchwarz, as in RNS formalism, a way of
incorporating supersymmetry into string theory that
is supersymmetric on the world sheet.R-parity Main article:
R-parity
A Z2 symmetry of supersymmetric models.R-R Short for
RamondRamond sector
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17
22 Ss 1. A strange quark.2. A Mandelstam variableS 1. An
action2. A scattering matrix.3. The transformation 1/ of the upper
half plane4. Scalar (current)5. Short for super or
supersymmetricS-brane A brane similar to a D-brane, with Dirichlet
boundary conditions in the time direction.S-duality Main article:
S-duality
Strongweak duality, a string duality relating theories with a
large coupling constant to theories with a smallcoupling
constant
SBB Standard Big Bang model of the universeSCFT Superconformal
eld theory, a supersymmetric extension of conformal eld
theorySchwarz Named for John Henry SchwarzSeiberg duality Main
article: Seiberg duality
SGA Abbreviation for Spectrum-generating algebrashort
supermultiplet A supermultiplet (representation) related to BPS
statessigma model Main articles: Sigma model and Non-linear sigma
model
A classical or quantum model based on the maps from a base
manifold to a target manifold.SL Special linear groupSLAC Stanford
Linear Accelerator CenterSLC Stanford Linear Colliderslepton Main
article: slepton
Hypothetical supersymmetric partner of a leptonSM Main article:
Standard Model
sneutrino Main article: sneutrinoHypothetical supersymmetric
partner of a neutrino
SO Special orthogonal groupSp Symplectic groupsphaleron Main
article: Sphaleron
Static solution to the electroweak eld equationssquark Main
article: squark
Supersymmetric partner of a quark.SSB Spontaneous symmetry
breakingSSM Standard solar modelstressenergy tensor Alternative
name for the #energymomentum tensor.
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18 23 T
string eld theory Main article: string eld theory
SU Special unitary groupSUGRA Short for
supergravitysuperconformal algebra Main articles: NeveuSchwarz
algebra and Ramond algebra
A supersymmetric analogue of the Virasoro algebra of conformal
symmetries in 2 dimensionssupereld Main article: Supereld
A supersymmetric analogue of a quantum or classical
eldsupergravity Main article: supergravity
A supersymmetric extension of general relativitysupermultiplet
Main article: Supermultiplet
A representation of a supersymmetry algebrasuperpotential Main
article: Superpotential
A function of chiral supereld not depending on their
superderivatives or spacetime derivatives, used to forma
Lagrangian.
superspace Main article: superspaceA supersymmetric analogue of
spacetime
superstring Main article: superstringA supersymmetric analogue
of a string
supersymmetry Main articles: supersymmetry and supersymmetry
algebraA generalization of a Lie superalgebra, where the Lie
bracket [a,b] is sometimes given by ab+ba rather thanabba.
SUSY An abbreviation for supersymmetry.SYM Supersymmetric
YangMills
23 Tt 1. A top quark.2. A Mandelstam variable.3. Time.T 1. The
energymomentum tensor.2. Time, especially the time symmetry.3. The
transformation +1 of the upper half plane.4. A torus.5. The string
tension.6. Temperature.7. Tensor (current)T-duality Main article:
T-duality
A string duality relating theories on a large spacetime to
theories on a small spacetime. In particular it exchangestype IIA
and IIB superstring theory.
tachyon Main article: TachyonA particle of imaginary mass moving
faster than light.
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19
ToE
TOE Theory of everything
type I
type II
type IIA
type IIB Main article: Type I string theoryMain article: Type II
string theoryA type of superstring or the corresponding low-energy
supergravity theory. The Roman numeral I or II refers tothe number
of d=10 supersymmetries, and types IIA or IIB are distinguished by
whether the supersymmetriesof left and right movers have opposite
or identical chiralities.
24 Uu 1. An up quark.
2. A Mandelstam variable.
U A unitary group.
U-duality Main article: U-dualityShort for unied duality. A
string duality relating two dierent string theories.
UED Universal extra dimensions
UV Short for ultra-violet, often referring to short-distance
singularities.
25 VV 1. A vertex operator.
2. Vector (current)
V-A Vector-Axial vector
vector supereld A type of supereld related to vector
supermultiplets.
VEV Vacuum expectation value of an operator.
vielbein A frame
vierbein A frame in 4 dimensions. Sometimes used for a frame in
an arbitrary number of dimension by authors whodo not care that
vier means four in German.
Veneziano amplitude Main article: Veneziano amplitudeThe Euler
beta function interpreted as a scattering amplitude.
vertex operator Main article: vertex operator
Virasoro algebra Main article: Virasoro algebraA central
extension of the Witt algebra of polynomial vector elds on a
circle.
-
20 28 SEE ALSO
26 Ww A complex numberW A W-bosonW-algebra Main article:
W-algebra
A sort of generalization of the Virasoro algebraWeyl 1. Named
after Hermann Weyl2. A Weyl transformation is a rescaling of the
world-sheet metric.3. Weyl spinor, an element of a half-spin
representation in even spacetime dimensions.WIMP Weakly interacting
massive particlewino Main article: wino (particle)
A hypothetical supersymmetric partner of the W-boson.Witten
Named for Edward Witten.WMAP Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy
Probeworld sheet The 2-dimensional subset of spacetime swept out by
a moving string.world-volume The p+1-dimensional spacetime volume
swept out by a p-brane, as in world-volume action.WZNWWZW Initials
of Wess, Zumino, (Novikov), andWitten, as in the WZWmodel, a -model
with a group as the target
space.
27 XYZx A real numberX Used for coordinates in Minkowski space.y
A real numberYBE YangBaxter equationYM YangMillsz A complex numberZ
1. A partition function2. The Z boson.An element of the center of
an extended supersymmetry algebra.ZEUS Main article: ZEUS (particle
detector)
zino Main article: gauginoA hypothetical supersymmetric partner
of the Z-boson.
zweibein A frame in 2 dimensions
28 See also List of string theory topics
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21
29 References Becker, Katrin, Becker, Melanie, and John H.
Schwarz (2007) String Theory and M-Theory: A Modern Intro-duction .
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-86069-5
Bintruy, Pierre (2007) Supersymmetry: Theory, Experiment, and
Cosmology. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-850954-7.
Dine, Michael (2007) Supersymmetry and String Theory: Beyond the
Standard Model. Cambridge UniversityPress. ISBN 0-521-85841-0.
Paul H. Frampton (1974). Dual Resonance Models. Frontiers in
Physics. ISBN 0-8053-2581-6. Michael Green, John H. Schwarz and
Edward Witten (1987) Superstring theory. Cambridge University
Press.
The original textbook. Vol. 1: Introduction. ISBN 0-521-35752-7.
Vol. 2: Loop amplitudes, anomalies and phenomenology. ISBN
0-521-35753-5.
Kiritsis, Elias (2007) String Theory in a Nutshell. Princeton
University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-12230-4. Johnson, Cliord (2003).
D-branes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN
0-521-80912-6. Polchinski, Joseph (1998) String Theory. Cambridge
University Press.
Vol. 1: An introduction to the bosonic string. ISBN
0-521-63303-6. Vol. 2: Superstring theory and beyond. ISBN
0-521-63304-4.
Szabo, Richard J. (Reprinted 2007) An Introduction to String
Theory and D-brane Dynamics. Imperial CollegePress. ISBN
978-1-86094-427-7.
Zwiebach, Barton (2004) A First Course in String Theory.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-83143-1.Contact author for
errata.
30 External links Particle physics glossary at
interactions.org
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22 31 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
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