Can free strings propagate across plane wave singularities?

Abstract

We study free string propagation in families of plane wave geometries developing strong scale-invariant singularities in certain limits. We relate the singular limit of the evolution for all excited string modes to that of the center-of-mass motion (the latter existing for discrete values of the overall plane wave profile normalization). Requiring that the entire excitation energy of the string should be finite turns out to be quite restrictive and essentially excludes consistent propagation across the singularity, unless dimensionful scales are introduced at the singular locus (in an otherwise scale-invariant space-time).

24 pages; v.2: published version, minor clarifications added

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• The string wave function across a Kasner singularity
• Null cosmological singularities and free strings
• p-branes on the waves
• Nonequilibrium dynamics of strings in time-dependent plane wave backgrounds
• String Excitation by Initial Singularity of Inflation
• The non-Abelian gauge theory of matrix big bangs
• Aspects of Plane Wave (Matrix) String Dynamics
• On the breakdown of the perturbative interaction picture in Big Crunch/Big Bang or the true reason why perturbative string amplitudes on temporal orbifolds diverge