Branes, Charge and Intersections

Abstract

This is a brief summary of lectures given at the Fourth Mexican School on Gravitation and Mathematical Physics. The lectures gave an introduction to branes in eleven-dimensional supergravity and in type IIA supergravities in ten-dimensions. Charge conservation and the role of the so-called `Chern-Simons terms' were emphasized. Known exact solutions were discussed and used to provide insight into the question `Why don't fundamental strings fall off of D-branes,' which is often asked by relativists. The following is a brief overview of the lectures with an associated guide to the literature.