cuttergirl Posted August 16, 2009 Posted August 16, 2009 I've been looking into M-theory, and I think I understand the general concept, but I would like to learn the math behind it. Can anyone link me or provide me with this?
ydoaPs Posted August 16, 2009 Posted August 16, 2009 I've been looking into M-theory, and I think I understand the general concept, but I would like to learn the math behind it. Can anyone link me or provide me with this? What is your current maths level? Know any calculus?
insane_alien Posted August 16, 2009 Posted August 16, 2009 thats going to make learning the maths extremely difficult indeed. perhaps you should wait till you have more math knowledge under your belt before you tackle M-theory which has a lot of complex maths in it which would need to be explained to you piece by piece.
cuttergirl Posted August 16, 2009 Author Posted August 16, 2009 The way I see it, the interest in learning M-theory will give me a reason to learn some advanced mathematics like calculus. You can learn things far faster when you have a drive to learn them, than when your forced to learn them in school by a boring teacher. I want to get ahead anyway...
iNow Posted August 16, 2009 Posted August 16, 2009 http://lanl.arxiv.org/PS_cache/hep-th/pdf/0509/0509137v2.pdf 1
cuttergirl Posted August 16, 2009 Author Posted August 16, 2009 http://lanl.arxiv.org/PS_cache/hep-th/pdf/0509/0509137v2.pdf THANK YOU THIS IS PERFECT *presses thank button and puts studying cap on* be prepared for a LOT more questions <3:eyebrow:
iNow Posted August 16, 2009 Posted August 16, 2009 As the guys mentioned above... Your biggest problem will simply be an inexperience with the mathematical language being used. It's not impossible, but you need to build a more solid foundation to be able to tackle the equations presented in that article. There are a few members here who are really good at explaining these complex maths in ways which make sense. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them, since I have not taken the time to learn the maths myself. Enjoy.
ajb Posted August 16, 2009 Posted August 16, 2009 What maths and physics you need to know before hand depends on what you want to do in string theory and/or M-theory. The official string theory website has a list of mathematics needed. Roughly, the first page everyone should know, the second and third pages everyone should know about and then depending on what you want/need to do you will become expert in some of the areas. Well, that will also depend on your tastes and the influences around you. I must warn you, it is quite advanced. Certainly more than is covered in a typical undergraduate degree in mathematics or physics. However, to get an idea of what is going on you do not need to get too in depth with the mathematics. A reasonable understanding of quantum mechanics, an appreciation of classical and quantum field theory including gauge theories, some familiarity with the ideas of general relativity are all that are needed. If you had to learn just one area of mathematics to prepare yourself for string theory and M-theory I would say differential geometry.
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