D. D. Tolla

Relevant deformations in open string field theory: a simple solution for lumps

A bstractWe propose a remarkably simple solution of cubic open string field theory which describes inhomogeneous tachyon condensation. The solution is in one-to-one correspondence with the IR fixed point of the RG-flow generated in the two-dimensional worldsheet theory by integrating a relevant operator with mild enough OPE on the boundary. It is shown how the closed string overlap correctly captures the shift in the closed string one point function between the UV and the IR limits of the flow. Examples of lumps in non-compact and compact transverse directions are given.

The energy of the analytic lump solution in SFT

In a previous paper a method was proposed to find exact analytic solutions of open string field theory describing lower dimensional lumps, by incorporating in string field theory an exact renormalization group flow generated by a relevant operator in a worldsheet CFT. In this paper we compute the energy of one such solution, which is expected to represent a D24 brane. We show, both numerically and analytically, that its value corresponds to the theoretically expected one.

Analytic solutions for Dp branes in SFT

A bstractThis is the follow-up of a previous paper [JHEP 08 (2011) 158] of ours, where we calculated the energy of a proposed analytic lump solution in SFT representing a D24-brane. Here we propose a similar analytic solution for a Dp-brane, for any p, and compute its energy.

Exact time-localized solutions in vacuum string field theory

Abstract We address the problem of finding star algebra projectors that exhibit localized time profiles. We use the double Wick rotation method, starting from a Euclidean (unconventional) lump solution, which is characterized by the Neumann matrix being the conventional one for the continuous spectrum, while the inverse of the conventional one for the discrete spectrum. This is still a solution of the projector equation and we show that, after inverse Wick-rotation, its time profile has the desired localized time dependence. We study it in detail in the low energy regime (field theory limit) and in the extreme high energy regime (tensionless limit) and show its similarities with the rolling tachyon solution.

Coupling between M2-branes and form fields

In the context of low-energy effective theory of multiple M2-branes, we construct the interaction terms between the world-volume fields of M2-branes and the antisymmetric tensor fields of three- and six-forms. By utilizing the compactification procedure, we show coincidence between the dimensionally reduced coupling and the R-R coupling to D-branes in type II string theory. We also discuss that a cubic term proportional to six-form field reproduces the quartic mass-deformation term in the world-volume theory of multiple M2-branes.

Interaction between M2-branes and bulk form fields

We construct the interaction terms between the world-volume fields of multiple M2-branes and the 3-and 6-form fields in the context of ABJM theory with U(N)×U(N) gauge symmetry. A consistency check is made in the simplest case of a single M2-brane i.e., our construction matches the known effective action of M2-brane coupled to antisymmetric 3-form field. We show that when dimensionally reduced, our couplings coincide with the effective action of D2-branes coupled to R-R 3-and 5-form fields in type IIA string theory. We also comment on the relation between a coupling with a specific 6-form field configuration and the supersymmetry preserving mass deformation in ABJM theory.

Ghost story. II. The Midpoint ghost vertex

We construct the ghost number 9 three strings vertex for OSFT in the natural normal ordering. We find two versions, one with a ghost insertion at z = i and a twist-conjugate one with insertion at z = - i. For this reason we call them midpoint vertices. We show that the relevant Neumann matrices commute among themselves and with the matrix G representing the operator K1. We analyze the spectrum of the latter and find that beside a continuous spectrum there is a (so far ignored) discrete one. We are able to write spectral formulas for all the Neumann matrices involved and clarify the important role of the integration contour over the continuous spectrum. We then pass to examine the (ghost) wedge states. We compute the discrete and continuous eigenvalues of the corresponding Neumann matrices and show that they satisfy the appropriate recursion relations. Using these results we show that the formulas for our vertices correctly define the star product in that, starting from the data of two ghost number 0 wedge states, they allow us to reconstruct a ghost number 3 state which is the expected wedge state with the ghost insertion at the midpoint, according to the star recursion relation.

Time-localized projectors in string field theory with an E-field

We extend the analysis of Bonora et al. [hep-th/0409063] to the case of a constant electric field turned on the world volume and on a transverse direction of a D-brane. We show that time localization is still obtained by inverting the discrete eigenvalues of the lump solution. The lifetime of the unstable soliton is shown to depend on two free parameters: the b parameter and the value of the electric field. As a by-product, we construct the normalized diagonal basis of the star algebra in the B{sub {mu}}{sub {nu}}-field background.

Ghost story. III. Back to ghost number zero

After having defined a 3-strings midpoint-inserted vertex for the bc system, we analyze the relation between gh=0 states (wedge states) and gh=3 midpoint duals. We find explicit and regular relations connecting the two objects. In the case of wedge states this allows us to write down a spectral decomposition for the gh=0 Neumann matrices, despite the fact that they are not commuting with the matrix representation of K1. We thus trace back the origin of this noncommutativity to be a consequence of the imaginary poles of the wedge eigenvalues in the complex ?-plane. With explicit reconstruction formulas at hand for both gh=0 and gh=3, we can finally show how the midpoint vertex avoids this intrinsic noncommutativity at gh=0, making everything as simple as the zero momentum matter sector.

Abelian projections of the mass-deformed ABJM theory and weakly curved dual geometry

We construct