M-Theory Through the Looking Glass: Tachyon Condensation in the E_8 Heterotic String
| dc.creator | Horava, Petr | |
| dc.creator | Keeler, Cynthia A. | |
| dc.date | 2007-09-20 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T11:19:27Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T11:19:27Z | |
| dc.description | We study the spacetime decay to nothing in string theory and M-theory. First we recall a nonsupersymmetric version of heterotic M-theory, in which bubbles of nothing -- connecting the two E_8 boundaries by a throat -- are expected to be nucleated. We argue that the fate of this system should be addressed at weak string coupling, where the nonperturbative instanton instability is expected to turn into a perturbative tachyonic one. We identify the unique string theory that could describe this process: The heterotic model with one E_8 gauge group and a singlet tachyon. We then use worldsheet methods to study the tachyon condensation in the NSR formulation of this model, and show that it induces a worldsheet super-Higgs effect. The main theme of our analysis is the possibility of making meaningful alternative gauge choices for worldsheet supersymmetry, in place of the conventional superconformal gauge. We show in a version of unitary gauge how the worldsheet gravitino assimilates the goldstino and becomes dynamical. This picture clarifies recent results of Hellerman and Swanson. We also present analogs of R_ξgauges, and note the importance of logarithmic CFT in the context of tachyon condensation. | |
| dc.description | 36 pages, 1 figure | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/0709.3296 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/0709.3296 | |
| dc.identifier | Phys.Rev.D77:066013,2008 | |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.77.066013 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/193690 | |
| dc.subject | High Energy Physics - Theory | |
| dc.title | M-Theory Through the Looking Glass: Tachyon Condensation in the E_8 Heterotic String | |
| dc.type | text |