本书一共分三章：章负能谱和负能谱系统、第二章负能谱热力学理论纲要和第三章黑洞热力学。其中第二章是本书的中心内容，从节到第七节集中阐述并建立了负能谱热力学的五条基本定理和定律。第八节阐述了负能谱系统的稳定平衡判据。第九至十一节讨论了熵减原理的应用以及负能谱热力学在高密度自引力坍缩物质中的应用。最后在第十二节里概述了正、负能谱中非平衡态热力学间的互补对应。

When I first decided to write a book on string theory, more than ten years ago, my memories of my student years were much more vivid than they are today. Still, I remember that one of the greatest pleasures was finding a text that made a difficult subject accessible, and I hoped to provide the same for string theory. Thus, my first purpose was to give a coherent introduction to string theory, based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. No previous knowledge of string theory is assumed. I do assume that the reader is familiar with the central ideas of general relativity, such as metrics and curvature, and with the ideas of quantum field theory through non- Abelian gauge symmetry. Originally a full course of quantum field theory was assumed as a prerequisite, but it became clear that many students were eager to learn string theory as soon as possible, and that others had taken courses on quantum field theory that did not emphasize the tools needed for string theory. I have therefore tri

从本书中学到物理大师做学问的方法。对称性是粒子物理的精髓，可以学到李先生如何从对称性原理出发，研究粒子物理的各种模型；如何利用量纲分析，数量级估计的方法来演绎物理定律和定理。从这本书中，还可以学到李先生是如何将理论物理和实验物理有机地结合起来。众所周知，李先生是实验与理论结合的典范，许多实验物理学家都愿意与李先生讨论他们在实验中遇到的问题，许多高能实验都是由李先生建议做的，包括美国布鲁克（Brookhaven）实验的大项目相对论重离子对撞机（RHIC）的建造等。这本书陈述的物理大多数都是在第二次世界大战时期发展起来的，李先生创建，或参与，或目睹了整个过程。因此，他对这些理论的解读和理解肯定有其之处，经过了他的思维而写下了教科书将是人类宝贵的财富。

When I first decided to write a book on string theory, more than ten years ago, my memories of my student years were much more vivid than they are today. Still, I remember that one of the greatest pleasures was finding a text that made a difficult subject accessible, and I hoped to provide the same for string theory. Thus, my first purpose was to give a coherent introduction to string theory, based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. No previous knowledge of string theory is assumed. I do assume that the reader is familiar with the central ideas of general relativity, such as metrics and curvature, and with the ideas of quantum field theory through non- Abelian gauge symmetry. Originally a full course of quantum field theory was assumed as a prerequisite, but it became clear that many students were eager to learn string theory as soon as possible, and that others had taken courses on quantum field theory that did not emphasize the tools needed for string theory. I have therefore tri