ICTP Lectures on Covariant Quantization of the Superstring

Abstract

These ICTP Trieste lecture notes review the pure spinor approach to quantizing the superstring with manifest D=10 super-Poincare invariance. The first section discusses covariant quantization of the superparticle and gives a new proof of equivalence with the Brink-Schwarz superparticle. The second section discusses the superstring in a flat background and shows how to construct vertex operators and compute tree amplitudes in a manifestly super-Poincare covariant manner. And the third section discusses quantization of the superstring in curved backgrounds which can include Ramond-Ramond flux.

43 pages harvmac

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Higher genus superstring amplitudes from the geometry of moduli spaces
• Super-Chern-Simons Theory as Superstring Theory
• "Massive" Higher Spin Multiplets and Holography
• Noncommutative Supersymmetric/Integrable Models and String Theory
• String Theories on Flat Supermanifolds
• Topological M Theory from Pure Spinor Formalism
• Spinning membranes on $Ad{S}_p\times S^q$
• Comments on Equations of Motion for Pure Spinors in Even Dimensions