Building string field theory around non-conformal backgrounds

Abstract

The main limitations of string field theory arise because its present formulation requires a background representing a classical solution, a background defined by a strictly conformally invariant theory. Here we sketch a construction for a gauge-invariant string field action around non-conformal backgrounds. The construction makes no reference to any conformal theory. Its two-dimensional field-theoretic aspect is based on a generalized BRST operator satisfying a set of Weyl descent equations. Its geometric aspect uses a complex of moduli spaces of two-dimensional Riemannian manifolds having ordinary punctures, and organized by the number of special punctures which goes from zero to infinity. In this complex there is a Batalin-Vilkovisky algebra that includes naturally the operator which adds one special puncture. We obtain a classical field equation that appears to relax the condition of conformal invariance usually taken to define classical string backgrounds.

38 pages, 4 figures, phyzzx and BoxedEPS included

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Oriented Open-Closed String Theory Revisited
• String Field Theory -- A Modern Introduction
• String Field Equations from Generalized Sigma Model
• T-duality of axial and vector dyonic integrable models
• String Field Equations From Generalized Sigma Model II
• New Moduli Spaces from String Background Independence Consistency Conditions
• An Operator Approach To String Equations