String Theory For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 12

Exploring Strings and Their Landscape

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding how strings can split and join

Feynman-like diagrams for string theory

Dark energy poses a challenge

Explaining how extra dimensions may uncurl

Navigating the landscape of string theory

We know that if a string is oscillating, we can interpret its oscillations as particles. But how do strings interact with each other? In this chapter, we look at how strings can join and merge, producing diagrams that are actually quite similar to the diagrams Richard Feynman introduced for quantum field theory. We consider how the physics of string theory may be reflected in the universe around us. Finally, we examine how the discovery of dark energy has complicated string theorists’ efforts to match experimental data and how physicists are struggling to find “the right version” of string theory in a vast landscape.

Strings and Fields: String Field Theory

Since the time of Newton, physicists have been trying to describe ...