Related papers: The Low-level Spectrum of the $W_3$ String
Recent progress on the physical states and scattering amplitudes of the $W_3$ string is reviewed with particular emphasis on the relation between this string theory and the Ising model.
We present a review of some of the recent developments in the study of the $W_3$ string. One of the interesting features of the theory is that the physical spectrum includes states with non-standard ghost structure, such as excitations of…
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…
We obtain the complete physical spectrum of the $W_N$ string, for arbitrary $N$. The $W_N$ constraints freeze $N-2$ coordinates, while the remaining coordinates appear in the currents only {\it via} their energy-momentum tensor. The…
We construct the low-lying discrete states of the two-scalar $W_3$ string. This includes states that correspond to the analogues of the ground ring generators of the ordinary two-dimensional string. These give rise to infinite towers of…
We present a detailed investigation of scattering processes in $W_3$ string theory. We discover further physical states with continuous momentum, which involve excitations of the ghosts as well as the matter, and use them to gain a better…
We study the physical Fock space of the tensionless string theory with perimeter action which has pure massless spectrum. The states are classified by the Wigner's little group for massless particles. The ground state contains infinite many…
The group theoretic method is extended to include fields with a background charge. This formalism is used to compute the tree level scattering for $W_3$ strings. The scattering amplitudes involve Ising model correlation functions. A…
The string equivalent of a massless particle ($m=0$) is the tensionless string ($T=0$). The study of such strings is of interest when trying to understand the high energy limit of ordinary strings. I discuss the classical $T\to 0$ limit of…
A general formalism for covariant $W_3$ string scattering is given. It is found necessary to use screening charges that are constructed from the $W_3$ fields including ghosts. The scattering amplitudes so constructed contain within them…
We construct new multi-field realisations of the $N=2$ super-$W_3$ algebra, which are important for building super-$W_3$ string theories. We derive the structure of the ghost vacuum for such theories, and use the result to calculate the…
In this paper we study the spectrum of bosonic string theory on AdS_3. We study classical solutions of the SL(2,R) WZW model, including solutions for long strings with non-zero winding number. We show that the model has a symmetry relating…
We investigate the behaviour of the bosonic string on AdS3 with H-flux at stringy scales, looking in particular for a `tensionless' limit in which there are massless higher spin gauge fields. We do this by revisiting the physical spectrum…
In the hybrid formulation of string theory on AdS_3 x S^3, the compactification-independent physical spectrum at the first massive level is determined. We find that these states transform in representations of the Lie superalgebra psl(2|2)…
We study the spectrum of physical states for higher-spin generalisations of string theory, based on two-dimensional theories with local spin-2 and spin-$s$ symmetries. We explore the relation of the resulting effective Virasoro string…
Witten's cubic open string field theory is expanded around the perturbatively stable vacuum, including all scalar fields at levels 0, 2, 4 and 6. The (approximate) BRST cohomology of the theory is computed, giving strong evidence for the…
We study a $U(N)$-invariant vector+matrix chain with the color structure of a lattice gauge theory with quarks and interpret it as a theory of open andclosed strings with target space $\Z$. The string field theory is constructed as a…
We carefully study the spectrum of open strings localized at the intersections of D6-branes and identify the lowest massive 'twisted' states and their vertex operators, paying particular attention to the signs of the intersection angles. We…
String theory on AdS_3 x S^3 is studied in the hybrid formulation. We give a detailed description of the PSL(2|2) supergroup WZW model that underlies the background with pure NS-NS flux, and determine the BRST-cohomology corresponding to…
We present a review of the status of $W$ string theories, their physical spectra, and their interactions. (Based on review talks given at the Trieste Spring Workshop, and the Strings 93 meeting at Berkeley, May 1993.)