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Covariant Quantization of the Superstring

Nathan Berkovits
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Abstract

After reviewing the Green-Schwarz superstring using the approach of Siegel, the superstring is covariantly quantized by constructing a BRST operator from the fermionic constraints and a bosonic pure spinor ghost variable. Physical massless vertex operators are constructed and, for the first time, N-point tree amplitudes are computed in a manifestly ten-dimensional super-Poincaré covariant manner. Quantization can be generalized to curved supergravity backgrounds and the vertex operator for fluctuations around $AdS_5\times S^5$ is explicitly constructed. This review is written in a self-contained manner and is based on talks given at the Fradkin Memorial Conference and Strings 2000.

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Nathan Berkovits. 2000-08-28. Covariant Quantization of the Superstring. https://doi.org/10.1142/s0217751x01003913

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