String Theory and Quantum Gravity

Approaches to a quantum theory of gravity including string theory, holography, and emergent spacetime.


foundation tier

String Theory and Quantum Gravity is a topic within frontier. Approaches to a quantum theory of gravity including string theory, holography, and emergent spacetime. The area sits at the intersection of foundational theory and active research practice, and its methodology is shaped by a small set of canonical references that frame how problems are posed, how results are validated, and what counts as progress.

Work in this area progresses along several axes: the canonical theoretical framework, benchmark problems that calibrate methods against known answers, computational and experimental tooling that extends reach to larger or more complex systems, and frontier questions that current references either open up or partially answer. The references cited below illustrate these axes in different ways and together define the working vocabulary of the field.

Foundational references

The primary references for this topic establish the conceptual core and the standard problem set.

String Theory and M-Theory: A Modern Introduction (Becker et al., 2007) is treated here as a primary reference for this area; its presentation of the subject is the canonical entry point for learners moving from prerequisites into independent work on string theory and quantum gravity.

A First Course in String Theory (Zwiebach, 2009) is treated here as a primary reference for this area; its presentation of the subject is the canonical entry point for learners moving from prerequisites into independent work on string theory and quantum gravity.

Open methodological questions in string theory and quantum gravity include the precise scope of validity of the current dominant techniques, the integration of newer computational or experimental tools, and how this topic connects to neighbouring areas in the tree. Subsequent waves of editing will deepen these connections and add fresh frontier references as the literature evolves.

Prerequisites

Sources

  • textbook · primary · 2007
    String Theory and M-Theory: A Modern Introduction
    becker-k-2007, becker-m-2007, schwarz-2007
  • textbook · primary · 2009
    A First Course in String Theory
    zwiebach-2009

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  1. 01

    Perturbative String Theory

    Worldsheet CFT, string amplitudes, and superstring spectra.

  2. 02

    M-Theory and Dualities

    Non-perturbative dualities relating string theories and M-theory in 11 dimensions.

  3. 03

    String Compactifications

    Calabi–Yau and flux compactifications producing low-energy effective theories.

  4. 04

    AdS/CFT Correspondence

    Holographic duality between gravity in AdS and CFT on its boundary.

  5. 05

    Holographic Entanglement Entropy

    Ryu–Takayanagi prescription and its quantum extensions in holographic systems.

  6. 06

    Black Hole Thermodynamics

    Entropy, temperature, and the laws of black-hole mechanics.

  7. 07

    Black Hole Information Problem

    Information loss in Hawking radiation and proposed resolutions via islands and replicas.

  8. 08

    Swampland Program

    Conjectured constraints separating consistent quantum-gravity effective theories from the swampland.

  9. 09

    Causal Dynamical Triangulations

    Lattice quantum gravity defined by simplicial decompositions of spacetime.

  10. 10

    Asymptotic Safety

    Non-perturbative renormalization of gravity at a UV fixed point.

  11. 11

    Emergent Spacetime

    Reconstructions of spacetime geometry from entanglement and quantum information.

  12. 12

    Celestial Holography

    Asymptotic symmetries and scattering amplitudes as boundary correlators on the celestial sphere.

  13. 13

    JT Gravity and SYK

    Two-dimensional dilaton gravity and the Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model as solvable toy models of holography.

  14. 14

    Twistors and Positive Geometry

    Twistor strings, amplituhedron, and positive-geometry reformulations of scattering.

  15. 15

    Quantum Cosmology

    Wave-function-of-the-universe approaches and quantum origins of the cosmos.


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