Gravity, Strings and Particles A Journey Into the Unknown [Paperback]

New fundamental forces of Nature? New forms of dark'' energy? Signals from epochs preceding the Big Bang? Is our space-time unique? Only a joint study of the three topics examined in this book  gravity, strings and particles  may provide answers to these questions. Such a study may also provide the key to solving one of the most fascinating mysteries of modern science, namely: Besides time and the three spatial dimensions, how many other dimensions exist in our universe?

The book is primarily addressed to readers who do not necessarily have a specific background in physics but are nevertheless interested in discovering the originality and the possible implications of some of the amazing ideas in modern theoretical physics. The emphasis is on conveying ideas rather than explaining formulas, focusing not on what is known but -- mainly -- on what is still unknown. Many parts of the book are devoted to fundamental theoretical models and results which are potentially highly relevant for a deeper understanding of Nature, but are still waiting to be? confirmed (or disproved) by experiments. From this point of view, the material of this book may also be of interest to professional physicists, whether or not they work in the field of fundamental interactions.


Besides time and the three spatial dimensions, how many other dimensions exist in our universe? Ideal for readers who do not necessarily have a specific background in physics, this book goes beyond what is known to focus particularly on what is still unknown.

Preface.- Prologue: inside the energy walls of our cradle.- Gravity at small distances.- New fundamental forces of Nature?.- The graviphoton and the dilaton.- Chamaleons and fat gravitons.- New dimensions of space?.- The compact scenario.- The Kaluza-Klein towers and the radion.- A spontaneous compactification.- The brane-world scenario.- The geometric confinement of gravity.- Gravity at large distances.-l“Y