A large class of two-dimensional dilaton-gravity theories in asymptotically AdS$_2$ spacetimes are holographically dual to a matrix integral, interpreted as an ensemble average over Hamiltonians. Viewing these theories as Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity with a gas of defects, we extend this duality to a broader class of dilaton potentials compared to previous work by including conical defects with small deficit angles. In order to do this we show that these theories are equal to the large $p$ limit of a natural deformation of the $(2,p)$ minimal string theory.
Analytic solutions to low-energy string theory, which describe arbitrary numbers of extreme `black holes (strings)' in linear dilaton vacua, are found.
The dilaton theorem implies that the contribution to the dilaton potential from cubic interactions of all levels must be cancelled by the elementary quartic self-coupling of dilatons. We use this expectation to test the quartic structure of closed string field theory and to study the rules for level expansion. We explain how to use the results of Moeller to compute quartic interactions of states that, just like the dilaton, are neither primary nor have a simple ghost dependence. Our analysis of cancellations is made richer by discussing simultaneous dilaton and marginal deformations. We find e…
In this paper we propose tachyon effective actions for unstable D-branes in superstring and bosonic string theories in the presence of the linear dilaton background.
A candidate for the confining string of gauge theories is constructed via a representation of the ultraviolet divergences of quantum field theory by a closed string dilaton insertion, computed through the soft dilaton theorem. The resulting (critical) confining string is conformally invariant, singles out naturally $d=4$ dimensions, and can not be used to represent theories with Landau poles.
The zero-momentum ghost-dilaton is a non-primary BRST physical state present in every bosonic closed string background. It is given by the action of the BRST operator on another state $\x$, but remains nontrivial in the semirelative BRST cohomology. When local coordinates arise from metrics we show that dilaton and $\x$ insertions compute Riemannian curvature and geodesic curvature respectively. A proper definition of a CFT deformation induced by the dilaton requires surface integrals of the dilaton and line integrals of $\x$. Surprisingly, the ghost number anomaly makes this a trivial deforma…
Dilaton contact terms in the bosonic and heterotic strings are examined following the recent work of Distler and Nelson on the bosonic and semirigid strings. In the bosonic case dilaton two-point functions on the sphere are calculated as a stepping stone to constructing a `good' coordinate family for dilaton calculations on higher genus surfaces. It is found that dilaton-dilaton contact terms are improperly normalized, suggesting that the interpretation of the dilaton as the first variation of string coupling breaks down when other dilatons are present. It seems likely that this can be attribu…
We derive a class of charged rotating dilaton black string solutions in the background of anti-de-Sitter spaces with an appropriate combination of three Liouville-type dilaton potentials. We also present the suitable counterterm which removes the divergences of the action in the presence of dilaton potential. The solutions are analyzed and their thermodynamics is discussed by using the counterterm method.
We analyze tree-level string amplitudes in a linear dilaton background, motivated by its use as a gauge-invariant tracer of string interactions in scattering experiments and its genericity among simple perturbative string theory limits. A simple case is given by a lightlike dependence for the dilaton. The zero mode of the embedding coordinate in the direction of dilaton variation requires special care. Employing Gaussian wave packets and a well-defined modification of the dilaton profile far from the dominant interaction region, we obtain finite results which explicitly reproduce the interacti…
We extend a previous calculation which treated Schwarschild black hole horizons as quantum mechanical objects to the case of a charged, dilaton black hole. We show that for a unique value of the dilaton parameter `a', which is determined by the condition of unitarity of the S matrix, black holes transform at the extremal limit into strings.
We study numerically the gravitational field of a star made of massive and neutral string states for the case in which the dilaton is massive. The solution exhibits very simple scaling properties in the dilaton mass. There is no horizon and the singularity is surrounded by a halo (the physical size of which is inversely proportional to the dilaton mass) where the scalar curvature is very large and proportional to the square of the dilaton mass.
We construct new half-BPS cosmic string solutions in D=4 N=2 supergravity compatible with a consistent truncation to N=1 supergravity where they describe D-term cosmic strings. The constant Fayet-Iliopoulos term in the N=1 D-term is not put in by hand but is geometrically engineered by a gauging in the mother N=2 supergravity theory. The coupling of the N=2 vector multiplets is characterized by a cubic prepotential admitting an axion-dilaton field, a common property of many compactifications of string theory. The axion-dilaton field survives the truncation to N=1 supergravity. On the string co…
We calculate dilaton and axion radiation generated in the collision of two straight initially unexcited strings and give a rough cosmological estimate of dilaton and axion densities produced via this mechanism in the early universe.
With an appropriate combination of three Liouville-type dilaton potentials, we construct a new class of spinning magnetic dilaton string solutions which produces a longitudinal magnetic field in the background of anti-de Sitter spacetime. These solutions have no curvature singularity and no horizon, but have a conic geometry. We find that the spinning string has a net electric charge which is proportional to the rotation parameter. We present the suitable counterterm which removes the divergences of the action in the presence of dilaton potential. We also calculate the conserved quantities of …
We investigate extremal charged black hole solutions in the four-dimensional string frame Gauss-Bonnet gravity with the Maxwell field and the dilaton. Without curvature corrections, the extremal electrically charged dilatonic black holes have singular horizon and zero Bekenstein entropy. When the Gauss-Bonnet term is switched on, the horizon radius expands to a finite value provided curvature corrections are strong enough. Below a certain threshold value of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling the extremal black hole solutions cease to exist. Since decreasing Gauss-Bonnet coupling corresponds to decreasi…
$AdS_{5}$ with linear dilaton and non vanishing $B$-field is shown to be a solution of the non critical string beta function equations. A non critical $(D=5)$ solution interpolating between flat space-time and $AdS_{5}$, with asymptotic linear dilaton and non vanishing $B$-field is also presented. This solution is free of space-time singularities and has got the string coupling constant everywhere bounded. Both solutions admit holographic interpretation in terms of ${\cal N}=0$ field theories. Closed string tachyon stability is also discussed.
Using the renormalization-group formalism, a sigma model of a special type- in which the metric and the dilaton depend explicitly on one of the string coordinates only-is investigated near two dimensions. It is seen that dilatonic gravity coupled to N scalar fields can be expressed in this form, using a string parametrization, and that it possesses the usual UV fixed point. However,in this stringy parametrization of the theory the fixed point for the scalar-dilaton coupling turns out to be trivial, while the fixed point for the gravitational coupling remains to be the same as in previous studi…
We calculate the background field equations for the T-duality symmetric string building on previous work by including the effect of the Dilaton up to two-loops. Inclusion of the Dilaton allows us to obtain the full beta functionals of the duality symmetric sigma model. We are able to interpret the result in terms of a dimensionally reduced O(d,d) invariant target space effective action.
The tachyon-free nonsupersymmetric string theories in ten dimensions have dilaton tadpoles which forbid a Minkowski vacuum. We determine the maximally symmetric backgrounds for the $USp(32)$ Type I string and the $SO(16)\times SO(16)$ heterotic string. The static solutions exhibit nine dimensional Poincaré symmetry and have finite 9D Planck and Yang-Mills constants. The low energy geometry is given by a ten dimensional manifold with two boundaries separated by a finite distance which suggests a spontaneous compactification of the ten dimensional string theory.
It is shown that all string fields except dilaton are non-propagating in the (2+1)-dimensional black string. One finds that the perturbation around the black string reveals a mixing between the dilaton and other fields. Under the new gauge(dilaton gauge), we disentangle this mixing and obtain one decoupled dilaton equation. It turns out that this black string is stable. From the scattering of dilaton off the neutral black string(N=0), we find the absorption cross-section. Further the absorption cross-section for minimally coupled scalar is obtained and we compared it with that of dilaton.
FRW solutions of the string theory low-energy effective actions are described, yielding a dilaton which first decreases and then increases. We study string creation in these backgrounds and find an exponential divergence due to an initial space-like singularity. We conjecture that this singularity may be removed by the effects of back-reaction, leading to a solution which at early times is de Sitter space.
We investigate the dependence of the gauge couplings on the dilaton field in string effective theories at the one--loop level. First we resolve the discrepancies between statements based on symmetry considerations and explicit calculations in string effective theories on this subject. A calculation of the relevant one--loop scattering amplitudes in string theory gives us further information and allows us to derive the exact form of the corresponding effective Lagrangian. In particular there is no dilaton dependent one--loop correction to the holomorphic $f$--function arising from massive strin…
A set of consistency conditions is derived for the massless sector of the D-dimensional E(8)xE(8) heterotic string. Under the solvable Lie algebra gauge these conditions are further formulated explicitly in terms of the dilatons and the axions. It is then shown that these consistency conditions which are satisfied by the solution space give way to an implicit decoupling between the coset scalar sector namely the dilatons and the axions and the gauge fields of the theory.
A naive dimensional reduction of the $N=1, D=10$ supergravity theory that naturally arises in five-brane models is used to determine the rôle of two fields which are basic ingredients of string models: the dilaton and, among the moduli, the breathing mode. It is shown that, under the duality transformation that relates five-branes and strings, these two fields exchange the rôles of 10-dimensional dilaton and radius of the compact manifold. A description of this phenomenon in terms of the linear multiplets of the 4-dimensional supergravity is also presented.
We discuss the string creation in the near-extremal NS1 black string solution. The string creation is described by an effective field equation derived from a fundamental string action coupled to the dilaton field in a conformally invariant manner. In the non-critical string model the dilaton field causes a timelike mirror surface outside the horizon when the size of the black string is comparable to the Planck scale. Since the fundamental strings are reflected by the mirror surface, the negative energy flux does not propagate across the surface. This means that the evaporation stops just befor…
We discuss some aspects of string cosmology with an emphasis on the role played by the dilaton. A cosmological scenario based on the assumption that all spatial dimensions are periodic so that winding modes play an important role is reviewed. A possibility of a transition from a `string phase' to the `standard' cosmology via a radiation dominated era and inflation is analysed. We also summarise some recent results about time dependent solutions of tree level string equations.
It is pointed out that string-loop modifications of the low-energy matter couplings of the dilaton may provide a mechanism for fixing the vacuum expectation value of a massless dilaton in a way which is naturally compatible with existing experimental data. Under a certain assumption of universality of the dilaton coupling functions , the cosmological evolution of the graviton-dilaton-matter system is shown to drive the dilaton towards values where it decouples from matter (``Least Coupling Principle"). Quantitative estimates are given of the residual strength, at the present cosmological epoch…
The operator formalism of the first quantized string theory is applied to the stringy excitations in the linear dilaton background. In particular, the normal-ordered vertex operators in the old-covariant spectrum of the bosonic open string, which correspond to the physical state solutions of the Virasoro constraints, are shown to satisfy the conformal algebra. Tree-level scattering amplitudes among different stringy states are computed using the coherent-state method and the modified inner product of the Hilbert space. Decoupling of the zero-norm states, i.e., the on-shell stringy Ward identit…
The theory of the string in interaction with a dilaton background field is analyzed. In the action considered, the metric in the world sheet of the string is the induced metric, and the theory presents second order time derivatives. The canonical formalism is developed and it is showed that first and second class constraints appear. The degrees of freedoom are the same than for the free bosonic string. The light cone gauge is used to reduce to the physical modes and to compute the physical hamiltonian.
High-energy limits of fixed-angle tree-level stringy scattering amplitudes in the light-like linear dilaton background are calculated. Treating the time component of the gradient of light-like dilaton field (V_0) as a moduli parameter, we show that: (1) there exists a new fixed-point (V_0/E \to \infty) in the moduli space of the bosonic open string theory, where a new high-energy symmetry among scattering amplitudes can be identified, (2) this new symmetry can be interpreted as a deformation of the flat-space high-energy symmetry, as proposed by D. Gross. Hence, our results give a concrete ill…
We reinvestigate the dilaton coupling in the string theory, which comes from a wrapped membrane. The ghost number anomaly associated with the string worldsheet diffeomorphism is shown to induce the dilaton coupling.
We study the behavior of the scattering amplitudes of the bosonic string involving a soft massless state (graviton, dilaton and Kalb-Ramond antisymmetric tensor) and closed string tachyons or other closed string massless states. For a soft graviton we confirm the results, obtained in Ref. [24] using just gauge invariance, up to terms of ${\cal O}(q^1)$ for external tachyons and up to terms of ${\cal O} (q^0)$ for external massless closed string states. Furthermore, we also derive the behavior of the scattering amplitude when a dilaton or a Kalb-Ramond field becomes soft. These results are new …
We find the full symmetries of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation for the Hawking and Page wormhole model and an axion-dilaton string cosmology. We show that the Wheeler-DeWitt Hamiltonian admits an U(1,1) hidden symmetry for the Hawking and Page model and U(2,1) for the axion-dilaton string cosmology. If we consider the existence of matter-energy renormalization, for each of these models we find that the Wheeler-DeWitt Hamiltonian accept an additional SL(2,R) dynamical symmetry. In this case, we show that the SL(2,R) dynamical symmetry generators transform the states from one energy Hilbert eigensub…
We discuss time - dependent solutions of the leading order string effective equations for a non-zero central charge deficit and curved maximally symmetric space. Some regular solutions are found for the case of non-trivial antisymmetric tensor and vector backgrounds (in various dimensions) and negative spatial curvature. It remains an open question which conformal theories are exact generalisations of these solutions.
We show how non-trivial form fields can induce an effective potential for the dilaton and metric moduli in compactifications of type II string theory and M-theory. For particular configurations, the potential can have a stable minimum. In cosmological compactifications of type II theories, we demonstrate that, if the metric moduli become fixed, this mechanism can then lead to the stabilization of the dilaton vacuum. Furthermore, we show that for certain cosmological M-theory solutions, non-trivial forms lead to the stabilization of moduli. We present a number of examples, including cosmologica…
Starting from the amplitude with an arbitrary number of massless closed states of the bosonic string, we compute the soft limit when one of the states becomes soft to subsubleading order in the soft momentum expansion, and we show that when the soft state is a graviton or a dilaton, the full string amplitude can be expressed as a soft theorem through subsubleading order. It turns out that there are string corrections to the field theoretical limit in the case of a soft graviton, while for a soft dilaton the string corrections vanish. We then show that the new soft theorems, including the strin…
We find the absorption probability of dilaton field in type 0B string theory. Since the background solutions are of the form $AdS_5 \times S^5$ on both regions, we use the semiclassical formalism adopted in type IIB theory to find the absorption cross section. The background tachyon field solution was used as a reference to relate the solutions of the two regions. We also consider the possible corrections to absorption probability and the $\ln(\ln z)$ form of the correction is expected as in the calculation of the confinement solution.
We consider the cosmological evolution of the three-brane in the background of type IIB string theory. For two different backgrounds which give nontrivial dilaton profile we have derived the Friedman-like equations. These give the cosmological evolution which is similar to the one by matter density on the universe brane. The effective density blows up as we move towards the singularity showing the initial singularity problem. The analysis shows that when there is axion field in the ambient space the recollapsing of the universe occurs faster compared with the case without axion field.
We consider near horizon fall-off conditions of stationary black holes in Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theory and find conserved charge conjugate to symmetry generator that preserves near horizon fall-off conditions. Subsequently, we find supertranslation, superrotation and multiple-charge modes. We apply the obtained results on a typical static dilaton black hole and on a charged rotating black string, as examples. In this case, supertranslation double-zero-mode charge $\mathcal{T}_{(0,0)}$ is not equal to black hole entropy times Hawking temperature. This may be seen as a problem but it is not, …
We investigate N-point string scattering amplitudes in AdS_3 space. Based on recent observations on the solutions of KZ and BPZ-type differential equations, we discuss how to describe the string theory in AdS_3 as a marginal deformation of a (flat) linear dilaton background. This representation resembles the called "discrete light-cone Liouville" realization as well as the FZZ dual description in terms of the sine-Liouville field theory. Consequently, the connection and differences between those and this realization are discussed. The free field representation presented here permits to underst…
The equivalence between the holographic renormalization group and the soft dilaton theorem is shown for a class of wrapped metrics solutions of the string beta function equations for the bosonic string.
We analyze the interaction between the massless RR states with a dilaton in a type IIB superstring. By constructing vertex operators for massless and massive RR states and computing their correlation functions with a dilaton we find the Ramond-Ramond part of the superstring low-energy effective action. The RR terms appearing in the action do not contain the standard dilatonic factor (string coupling constant). The geometrical interpretation of this fact is presented. Namely we argue that the spin operators in the RR vertices effectively decrease the Euler character of the worldsheet by 1 unit.…
In general bosonic closed string backgrounds the ghost-dilaton is not the only state in the semi-relative BRST cohomology that can change the dimensionless string coupling. This fact is used to establish complete dilaton theorems in closed string field theory. The ghost-dilaton, however, is the crucial state: for backgrounds where it becomes BRST trivial we prove that the string coupling becomes an unobservable parameter of the string action. For backgrounds where the matter CFT includes free uncompactified bosons we introduce a refined BRST problem by including the zero-modes "x" of the boson…
In this paper we, first, present a class of charged rotating solutions in four-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity with zero and Liouville-type potentials. We find that these solutions can present a black hole/string with two regular horizons, an extreme black hole or a naked singularity provided the parameters of the solutions are chosen suitable. We also compute the conserved and thermodynamic quantities, and show that they satisfy the first law of thermodynamics. Second, we obtain the ($n+1$%)-dimensional rotating solutions in Einstein-dilaton gravity with Liouville-type potential.…
Under the assumption of axial symmetry we introduce a map from dilatonic gravity to a string-like action. This map allows one to introduce, in a rather simple way, the equivalent of string theory T-duality in dilatonic gravity. Here we choose the duality group to be an $SO(2,1)$ group and, for a particular rotation, we recover a symmetry of dilatonic gravity discussed previously in the literature.
We consider a string inspired effective Lagrangian for the graviton and dilaton, containing Einstein gravity at the zero slope limit. The numerical solution of the problem shows asymptotically an inflationary universe. The time is measured by the dilaton, as one expects. The result is independent of the introduction of ad-hoc self interactions for the dilaton field.
We study the classical theory of a non-Abelian gauge field (gauge group $SU(2)$) coupled to a massive dilaton, massive axion and Einstein gravity. The theory is inspired by the bosonic part of the low-energy heterotic string action for a general Yang-Mills field, which we consider to leading order after compactification to $(3+1)$ dimensions. We impose the condition that spacetime be static and spherically symmetric, and we introduce masses via a dilaton-axion potential associated with supersymmetry (SUSY)-breaking by gaugino condensation in the hidden sector. In the course of describing the p…
We complete the proof of the ghost-dilaton theorem in string theory by showing that the coupling constant dependence of the vacuum vertices appearing in the closed string action is given correctly by one-point functions of the ghost-dilaton. To prove this at genus one we develop the formalism required to evaluate off-shell amplitudes on tori.
New and surprisingly simple representation is found for the heterotic string bosonic effective action in three dimensions in terms of complex potentials. The system is presented as a Kähler $σ$--model using complex symmetric $2\times 2$ matrix (matrix dilaton--axion) which depends linearly on three Ernst--type potentials and transforms under $U$--duality via matrix valued $SL(2,R)$. Two discrete automorphisms relating ten isometries of the target space (U--duality transformations) are found and used to generate the non--trivial Ehlers--Harrison sector by a map from the trivial gauge sector. Fi…
A class of spinning magnetic string in 4-dimensional Einstein-dilaton gravity with Liouville type potential which produces a longitudinal nonlinear electromagnetic field is presented. These solutions have no curvature singularity and no horizon, but have a conic geometry. In these spacetimes, when the rotation parameter does not vanish, there exists an electric field, and therefore the spinning string has a net electric charge which is proportional to the rotation parameter. Although the asymptotic behavior of these solutions are neither flat nor (A)dS, we calculate the conserved quantities of…
We argue that vacua of string theory which asymptote at weak coupling to linear dilaton backgrounds are holographic. The full string theory in such vacua is ``dual'' to a theory without gravity in fewer dimensions. The dual theory is generically not a local quantum field theory. Excitations of the string vacuum, which can be studied in the weak coupling region using worldsheet methods, give rise to observables in the dual theory. An interesting example is string theory in the near-horizon background of parallel NS5-branes, the CHS model, which is dual to the decoupled NS5-brane theory (``littl…
The early Universe might have undergone phase transitions at energy scales much higher than the one corresponding to the Grand Unified Theories (GUT) scales. At these higher energy scales, the transition at which gravity separated from all other interactions; the so-called Planck era, more massive strings called supermassive cosmic strings, could have been produced, with energy of about 10^{19}GeV. The dynamics of strings formed with this energy scale cannot be described by means of the weak-field approximation, as in the standard procedure for ordinary GUT cosmic strings. As suggested by stri…
First, I present two new classes of magnetic rotating solutions in four-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity with Liouville-type potential. The first class of solutions yields a 4-dimensional spacetime with a longitudinal magnetic field generated by a static or spinning magnetic string. I find that these solutions have no curvature singularity and no horizons, but have a conic geometry. In these spacetimes, when the rotation parameter does not vanish, there exists an electric field, and therefore the spinning string has a net electric charge which is proportional to the rotation parame…
