The $W_3$-string spectrum

Abstract

We study the spectrum of $W_3$ strings. In particular, we show that for appropriately chosen space-time signature, one of the scalar fields is singled out by the spin-3 constraint and is ``frozen'': no creation operators from it can appear in physical states and the corresponding momentum must assume a specific fixed value. The remaining theory is unitary and resembles an ordinary string theory in $d\ne 26$ with anomalies cancelled by appropriate background charges. In the case of the $W_3$ string, however, the spin-two ``graviton'' is massive.

14 Pages

Cited by in corpus (20)

• Operator growth in 2d CFT
• On the Spectrum and Scattering of W_3 Strings
• A Derivation of the BRST Operator for Non-Critical W-Strings
• Discrete States in the $W_3$ String
• The Complete Spectrum of the $W_N$ String
• The Interacting $W_3$ String
• The Multivalued Free-Field Maps of Liouville and Toda Gravities
• Critical and non-critical W_{2,4} strings
• The Complete Cohomology of the W3 String
• On Sibling and Exceptional W Strings
• New Realisations of Minimal Models and the Structure of W-Strings
• Spinor Field Realizations of Non-critical $W_{2,s}$ Strings
• Ghost field realizations of the spinor $W_{2,s}$ strings based on the linear W(1,2,s) algebras
• On Realisations of W Algebras
• Anomaly Freedom and Realisations for Super-$W_3$ Strings
• Anomaly-free $W$-gravity Theories
• New Spinor Field Realizations of the Non-Critical $W_3$ String
• Spinor field realizations of the non-critical $W_{2,4}$ string based on the linear $W_{1,2,4}$ algebra
• N=2 Superstrings with (1,2m) Spacetime Signature
• Physical States and BRST Operators for Higher-spin $W$ Strings