D-Sphalerons and the Topology of String Configuration Space

Abstract

We show that unstable D-branes play the role of ``D-sphalerons'' in string theory. Their existence implies that the configuration space of Type II string theory has a complicated homotopy structure, similar to that of an infinite Grassmannian. In particular, the configuration space of Type IIA (IIB) string theory on ${\mathbb{R}}^{10}$ has non-trivial homotopy groups ${\pi }_k$ for all $k$ even (odd).

29pp, harvmac (b),trivial typo fixed

Cited by in corpus (27)

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• A Chern-Simons Pandemic
• Wess-Zumino Term in Tachyon Effective Action
• Sphalerons, Merons and Unstable Branes in AdS
• Dilatonic Repulsons and Confinement via the AdS/CFT Correspondence
• Superconnections, Anomalies and Non-BPS Brane Charges
• Supersymmetric Pair Correlation Function of Wilson Loops
• String Universality
• Matrix Model, Noncommutative Gauge Theory and the Tachyon Potential
• Supergravity Approach to Tachyon Potential in Brane-Antibrane Systems
• Connecting flux vacua through scalar field excursions
• Dirichlet Branes on a Calabi-Yau Three-fold Orbifold
• Tachyon Condensation in Noncommutative Gauge Theory
• Tachyon condensation on brane sphalerons
• Cosmological D-instantons and Cyclic Universes
• AdS/CFT description of D-particle decay
• Rolling tachyon in anti-de Sitter space-time
• Matrix Theory for the DLCQ of Type IIB String Theory on the AdS/Plane-wave
• Tachyons on Dp-branes from Abelian Higgs sphalerons
• Multi-scalar tachyon potential on non-BPS domain walls
• Holographic dynamics of unstable branes in AdS
• From Branes to Branes
• Graviton Absorption by Non-BPS Branes