The complete quantum theory of closed superstrings is constructed using string diagrams endowed with metric having constant curvature $-1$. The elementary string diagrams are equipped with the analytic local coordinates induced from the hyperbolic metric and a distribution of a set of picture changing operators constructed using the identities satisfied by the simple closed geodesics on a hyperbolic Riemann surface. However, a slight modification near the boundary of the string vertices is needed to make them satisfy the geometric condition imposed by the quantum Batalin-Vilkovisky master equation.
We explore the hyperbolic structure of the RNS formulation of perturbative superstring theory. The aim is to provide a systematic method to explicitly compute on-shell and off-shell closed superstring amplitudes with an arbitrary number of external states and loops. Using hyperbolic geometry, we construct gluing-compatible off-shell string measures by giving a set of gluing-compatible local coordinates around external punctures and a gluing-compatible distribution of picture-changing operators. These amplitudes satisfy the required off-shell factorization property. This provides a formalism wi…
We give a construction for a general class of vertices in superstring field theory which include integration over bosonic moduli as well as the required picture changing insertions. We apply this procedure to find a covariant action for the NS-NS sector of Type II closed superstring field theory.
We regulate Witten's open superstring field theory by replacing the picture-changing insertion at the midpoint with a contour integral of picture changing insertions over the half-string overlaps of the cubic vertex. The resulting product between string fields is non-associative, but we provide a solution to the $A_\infty$ relations defining all higher vertices. The result is an explicit covariant superstring field theory which by construction satisfies the classical BV master equation.
We consider two problems associated to the space of Riemann surfaces that are closely related to string theory. We first consider the problem of existence of heterotic-string and type-II-superstring field theory vertices in the product of spaces of bordered surfaces parameterizing left- and right-moving sectors of these theories. It turns out that this problem can be solved by proving the existence of a solution to the BV quantum master equation in moduli spaces of bordered spin-Riemann surfaces. We first prove that for arbitrary genus $g$, $n_{\text{NS}}$ Neveu-Schwarz boundary components, an…
We outline the construction of type II superstring field theory leading to a geometric and algebraic BV master equation, analogous to Zwiebach's construction for the bosonic string. The construction uses the small Hilbert space. Elementary vertices of the non-polynomial action are described with the help of a properly formulated minimal area problem. They give rise to an infinite tower of superstring field products defining a $\mathcal{N}=1$ generalization of a loop homotopy Lie algebra, the genus zero part generalizing a homotopy Lie algebra. Finally, we give an operadic interpretation of the…
We determine the form of a significantly large class of gauge-invariant quartic vertices for symmetric higher-spin fields (in Vasiliev formalism) in AdS5 space in the rectangular limit, (defined in the paper) using the higher-spin vertex operators in superstring theory, which construction is based on the generators of the higher-spin symmetry algebra, enveloping the AdS isometries. In this limit, a particular simplification is that the quartic vertices do not receive corrections from worldsheet renormalization group flows of the cubic terms, so their structure is fixed directly by the 4-point …
We construct a family of hyperbolic string vertices in the oriented open-closed string field theory, generalizing the recent result on hyperbolic closed string vertices by Costello and Zwiebach. The vertices are described by certain bordered hyperbolic surfaces and we explain relevant collar theorems which provide restrictions on the systolic conditions for the hyperbolic vertices. We also give explicit descriptions of the vertices for all zero and one-dimensional moduli spaces.
We complete the construction of a gauge-invariant action for NS-NS superstring field theory in the large Hilbert space begun in arXiv:1305.3893 by giving a closed-form expression for the action and nonlinear gauge transformations. The action has the WZW-like form and vertices are given by a pure-gauge solution of heterotic string field theory in the small Hilbert space.
We show that the classical S-matrix calculated from the recently proposed superstring field theories give the correct perturbative S-matrix. In the proof we exploit the fact that the vertices are obtained by a field redefinition in the large Hilbert space. The result extends to include the NS-NS subsector of type II superstring field theory and the recently found equations of motions for the Ramond fields. In addition, our proof implies that the S-matrix obtained from Berkovits' WZW-like string field theory then agrees with the perturbative S-matrix to all orders.
We investigate a string-inspired axion extension of the standard model obtained from Type II superstrings using quiver method. In the first part, we discuss intersecting Type IIA D6-branes wrapping non trivial 3-cycles in the presence of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry U(1)$_{PQ}$. Concretely, a complex scalar field $ϕ=ρexp(\frac{iσ}{f_σ})$, where $σ$ is a closed string axion generates a general fermion Yukawa coupling weighted by a flavor-dependent power $n_{f}$ taking specific values. Using string theory and standard model data, we find that the corresponding axion window is in the allowed range $…
The string vertices of closed string field theory are subsets of the moduli spaces of punctured Riemann surfaces that satisfy a geometric version of the Batalin-Vilkovisky master equation. We present a homological proof of existence of string vertices and their uniqueness up to canonical transformations. Using hyperbolic metrics on surfaces with geodesic boundaries we give an exact construction of string vertices as sets of surfaces with systole greater than or equal to $L$ with $L\leq 2\, \hbox{arcsinh}\, 1$. Intrinsic hyperbolic collars prevent the appearance of short geodesics upon sewing. …
In this paper, we establish connections between reflected entropies of multipartite mixed states in CFT$_{2}$ and hyperbolic string vertices of closed string field theory (CSFT). We show that the reflected surfaces, which are bulk duals of the reflected entropies, share the same Riemann surfaces with the hyperbolic string vertices. This observation enables us to build quantitative relations between the reflected entropies and hyperbolic string vertices. We illustrate the connections with several examples. Consequently, we propose that spacetime structure could be directly generated from the hy…
The main geometric ingredient of the closed string field theory are the string vertices, the collections of string diagrams describing the elementary closed string interactions, satisfying the quantum Batalian-Vilkovisky master equation. They can be characterized using the Riemann surfaces endowed with the metric solving the generalized minimal area problem. However, an adequately developed theory of such Riemann surfaces is not available yet, and consequently description of the string vertices via Riemann surfaces with the minimal area metric fails to provide practical tools for performing ca…
We describe a notion of "higher" Wess-Zumino-Witten-like action which is natural in the context of superstring field theories formulated in the large Hilbert space. For the open string, the action is characterized by a pair of commuting cyclic $A_\infty$ structures together with a hierarchy of higher-form potentials analogous to the Maurer-Cartan elements which appear in the conventional Wess-Zumino-Witten action. We apply this formalism to get a better understanding of symmetries of open superstring field theory and the structure of interactions in the Ramond sector, describing an interesting…
We calculate on-shell scattering amplitudes involving fermions at the tree level in open superstring field theory. We confirm that four-point and five-point amplitudes in the world-sheet path integral with the standard prescription using picture-changing operators are reproduced. For the four-point amplitudes, we find that the quartic interaction required by gauge invariance adjusts the different assignment of picture-changing operators in the $s$-channel and in the $t$-channel of Feynman diagrams with two cubic vertices. For the five-point amplitudes, the correct amplitudes are reproduced in …
Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences（捷克科学院物理研究所）；ICTP - South American Institute for Fundamental Research, IFT-UNESP（国际理论物理中心南美基础研究所，圣保罗州立大学）
Superstring field theory expresses the perturbative S-matrix of superstring theory as a sum of Feynman diagrams each of which is manifestly free from ultraviolet divergences. The interaction vertices fall off exponentially for large space-like external momenta making the ultraviolet finiteness property manifest, but blow up exponentially for large time-like external momenta making it impossible to take the integration contours for loop energies to lie along the real axis. This forces us to carry out the integrals over the loop energies by choosing appropriate contours in the complex plane whos…
We present a new approach to formulating open superstring field theory based on the covering of the supermoduli space of super-Riemann surfaces and explicitly construct a gauge-invariant action in the Neveu-Schwarz sector up to quartic interactions. The cubic interaction takes a form of an integral over an odd modulus of disks with three punctures and the associated ghost is inserted. The quartic interaction takes a form of an integral over one even modulus and two odd moduli, and it can be interpreted as the integral over the region of the supermoduli space of disks with four punctures which …
We begin developing tools to compute off-shell string amplitudes with the recently proposed hyperbolic string vertices of Costello and Zwiebach. Exploiting the relation between a boundary value problem for Liouville's equation and a monodromy problem for a Fuchsian equation, we construct the local coordinates around the punctures for the generalized hyperbolic three-string vertex and investigate their various limits. This vertex corresponds to the general pants diagram with three boundary geodesics of unequal lengths. We derive the conservation laws associated with such vertex and perform samp…
The Berkovits formulation of open superstring field theory is based on the large Hilbert space of the superconformal ghost sector. We discuss its relation to the Witten formulation based on the small Hilbert space. We introduce a one-parameter family of conditions for partial gauge fixing of the Berkovits formulation such that the cubic interaction of the theory under the partial gauge fixing reduces to that of the Witten formulation in a singular limit. The local picture-changing operator at the open-string midpoint in the Witten formulation is regularized in our approach, and the divergence …
We consider the Steiner tree problem in hyperbolic geometry in the context of the AdS/CFT duality between large-$c$ conformal blocks on the boundary and particle motions in the bulk. The Steiner trees are weighted graphs on the Poincare disk with a number of endpoints and trivalent vertices connected to each other by edges in such a way that an overall length is minimum. We specify a particular class of Steiner trees that we call holographic. Their characteristic property is that a holographic Steiner tree with $N$ endpoints can be inscribed into an $N$-gon with $N-1$ ideal vertices. The holog…
Exact metrics on some totally geodesic submanifolds of the moduli space of static hyperbolic N-vortices are derived. These submanifolds, denoted Σ_{n,m}, are spaces of C_n-invariant vortex configurations with n single vortices at the vertices of a regular polygon and m=N-n coincident vortices at the polygon's centre. The geometric properties of Σ_{n,m} are investigated, and it is found that Σ_{n,n-1} is isometric to the hyperbolic plane of curvature -1/(3πn). Geodesic flow on Σ_{n,m}, and a geometrically natural variant of geodesic flow recently proposed by Collie and Tong, are analyzed in det…
We derive pomeron vertex operators for bosonic strings and superstrings in the presence of D-branes. We demonstrate how they can be used in order to compute the Regge behavior of string amplitudes on D-branes and the amplitude of ultrarelativistic D-brane scattering. After a lightning review of the BCFW method, we proceed in a classification of the various BCFW shifts possible in a field/string theory in the presence of defects/D-branes. The BCFW shifts present several novel features, such as the possibility of performing single particle momentum shifts, due to the breaking of momentum conserv…
We construct complete sets of (open and closed string) covariant coherent state and mass eigenstate vertex operators in bosonic string theory. This construction can be used to study the evolution of fundamental cosmic strings as predicted by string theory, and is expected to serve as a self-contained prototype toy model on which realistic cosmic superstring vertex operators can be based on. It is also expected to be useful for other applications where massive string vertex operators are of interest. We pay particular attention to all the normalization constants, so that these vertices lead dir…
