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# Quantum Theory of Tensionless Noncommutative 𝑝-Branes

## I Introduction

Tensionless strings are extended objects discovered by Schild many years ago sch  and it corresponds –formally- to a set of infinite massless relativistic particles satisfying the constraint

$$_1=p_\mu x^{}_{}{}^{}\mu ,$$

where $`x^\mu `$ transform as a scalar on the volume world and the spacetime index $`\mu `$ runs over $`0,1,2,\mathrm{},D1`$ with $`D`$, the spacetime dimension111For recent results results see varios .

Physically speaking this problem is related to the behavior of string theory at very high energy witte , also known as the strong coupling limit. More exactly, when the Regge slope goes to infinite, the spectrum of the string theory is massless; the situation is similar to what occurs in the standard model before the gauge symmetry is broken.

In string theory, however, the situation is quite involved because the “gauge group” corresponds to diffeomorphisms and the gauge group –in this case is infinite dimensional. As in the standard string theory, the critical dimensions for space time will be 26 (or 10) depending on the bosonic (or fermionic)character gamboa  as in the tensionful case.

The general case (that is $`p`$-branes), concerning to the critical dimensions, only partial results are known and, probably, they are not definitive scho .

The fact that null strings exist at very high energies, in the sense previously explained, together with the possibility that the Lorentz invariance could be deformed or even broken at such energies kos ; alot ; ame1 ; ame2  rise the question of how to study the effect of such deformation in the null string scenario.

There are several proposals to formulate such Lorentz invariance deformations. They can be classified in two groups depending on the existence of a preferred reference frame. For such a case there is a proposal ccgm ; rubi  based in the deformation of the commutators between fields which is appropriated to discuss the question previously formulated.

However, one could argue that such deformation should not have any impact in the sense of a measurable consequence. That is, the deformation at the level of just one string or $`p`$-brane, could be washed out. Then, there should be an amplifier mechanism.

Because of this, instead of considering just one $`p`$-brane, turns out to be more interesting to consider a gas of such objects and to study the thermodynamics of such system. Then, one can introduce the noncommutative fields and explore the amplified consequences of it.

The purpose of the present paper is to study the properties of these extended objected described by noncommutative fields and as well as some statistical mechanics of null $`p`$-branes issues that include the null string is as a particular case.

The paper is organized as follow: in section II we consider relativistic particles in a noncommutative space where several quantum statistical mechanics considerations are studied. In section III, the previous results are extended non-commutative $`p`$-dimensional null branes and its quantum statistical mechanics properties described. In section IV, we discuss the previous results as a possible interaction mechanism and also we present our main conclusions. An appendix including the statistical mechanics for free relativistic particles is considered and the nonexistence of Matsubara modes for this system is established.

## II Noncommutative relativistic quantum mechanics

In this section we will construct noncommutative versions of generally covariant systems. We will start considering, firstly, the relativistic particle on a $`D`$-dimensional spacetime and later– in the next section – we will extend our results to tensionless strings and membranes.

### II.1 Relativistic free particle and the proper-time gauge

There are many approaches to discuss relativistic quantum mechanics of a free particle. One of them is the so called proper-time method, which was used in the early 50th in connection with quantum electrodynamics nambu . The idea is to consider a particle in a $`D+1`$\- dimensional Euclidean spacetime.

The diffusion equation for such system is

$$\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{}\phi (x,s)=\frac{\phi }{s},$$
(1)
where $`\mathrm{}`$ is the $`D`$-dimensional Laplacian.

Then, using the ansatz

$$\phi (x,s)=e^{\frac{m^2}{2}s}\varphi (x),$$
(2)
one finds that $`\varphi (x)`$ satisfies the Klein-Gordon equation if $`m`$ is the mass of the particle.

In this approach, the propagation amplitude is given by the Laplace transform

$$G[x,x^{^{}};m^2]=_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑se^{s\frac{m^2}{2}}G[x,x^{^{}};s],$$
(3)
where

$`G[x,x^{^{}};s]`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle 𝒟xe^{_0^1𝑑\tau \frac{\dot{x}^2}{2s}}},`$ (4)
$`=`$ $`s^{D/2}e^{\frac{(\mathrm{\Delta }x)^2}{2s}}.`$
From this one obtains the partition function for a gas of $`N`$ free relativistic particles 222Along this paper we assume that the particles are spinless. The reader should note also that we are assuming the Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics, for a justication about this see appendix

$$Z_s=\left(\text{Tr}\left[e^{\frac{m^2}{2}s}G[x,x^{};s]\right]\right)^N,$$
(5)
or equivalently

$$\mathrm{ln}Z=N\left[\frac{m^2}{2}s\frac{D}{2}\mathrm{ln}s+\mathrm{ln}𝒱\right],$$
(6)
where $`𝒱=V\times \text{const.}`$ is the $`D`$-dimensional spacetime, $`V`$ is the $`D1`$-dimensional ordinary spatial volume and $`s`$ plays the role of $`\beta =1/kT`$.

### II.2 The relativistic particle in a noncommutative space

Equation (1) suggests a simple way to extent the problem to a gas of relativistic particles on a noncommutative space.

Indeed, from (1) we see that the Hamiltonian for a relativistic particle is

$$\widehat{H}=\frac{1}{2}p_\mu ^2.$$
(7)
Once (7) is given, noncommutativity is implemented through the deformed algebra

$`[x_\mu ,x_\nu ]`$ $`=`$ $`i\theta _{\mu \nu },[p_\mu ,p_\nu ]=iB_{\mu \nu },`$ (8)
$`[x_\mu ,p_\nu ]`$ $`=`$ $`i\delta _{\mu \nu },`$ (9)
where $`\theta _{\mu \nu }`$ and $`B_{\mu \nu }`$ are the deformation parameters in the phase space.

For convenience we choose

$`\theta _{i0}`$ $`=`$ $`0\theta _{ij}=ϵ_{ij}\theta ,`$ (10)
$`B_{i0}`$ $`=`$ $`0,B_{ij}=ϵ_{ij}B.`$ (11)
Therefore, the equation of motion for this particle is

$`\dot{x}_\mu `$ $`=`$ $`p_\mu ,`$
$`\dot{p}_i`$ $`=`$ $`ϵ_{ij}Bp_j.`$ (12)
These equations can be integrated directly by using (10) and (11). Indeed, one of the equations is trivial, namely, the energy conservation condition ($`\dot{p}_0=0`$). Note that the symmetric gauge we have chosen, implies that non-commutativity is realized only for the first two momenta and coordinates components. The other components are treated as usual. In principle, we could extend this hypothesis taking also other pairs of momenta and coordinates components, but this is not essential for our discussion.

Keeping this in mind, the remaining equations have the solution

$`p_1`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\left(\alpha e^{iBt}+\alpha ^{}e^{iBt}\right),`$
$`p_2`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2i}}\left(\alpha e^{iBt}\alpha ^{}e^{iBt}\right),`$ (13)
where $`\alpha `$’s are constant operators.

The coordinates $`x_{1,2}`$ are obtained in a similar way using (12), i.e.

$`x_1`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2iB}}\left(\alpha ^{}e^{iBt}\alpha e^{iBt}\right)+x_{01},`$
$`x_2`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2B}}\left(\alpha e^{iBt}+\alpha ^{}e^{iBt}\right)+x_{02}.`$ (14)
From the commutation relation of $`p`$’s, we see that it is possible to define operators $`a`$ and $`a^{}`$ satisfying the algebra

$`[a,a]`$ $`=`$ $`0=[a^{},a^{}],`$
$`[a,a^{}]`$ $`=`$ $`1,`$ (15)
where

$$\alpha \sqrt{B}a,\alpha ^{}\sqrt{B}a^{}.$$

The equations of motion –as a second order equation system– are

$$\ddot{x}_\mu =B_{\mu \nu }\dot{x}_\nu ,$$

which can be solved by the Ansatz $`x_\mu =a_\mu e^{i\omega s}`$.

The last equation is

$$(i\omega \delta _{\mu \nu }B_{\mu \nu })a_\nu =0.$$

Therefore, the dispersion relation for this system is

$$\omega _\pm =\{\begin{array}{c}\pm B\\ 0\end{array},$$
(16)
and –since one of the eigenvalues vanishes– the Hamiltonian spectrum is degenerated

Thus, the hamiltonian for a relativistic particle living on a noncommutative space is

$$H=\frac{B}{2}\left(a^{}a+\frac{1}{2}\right)+\frac{1}{2}\underset{n=1}{\overset{D3}{}}(p_\mu ^2)_n.$$
(17)
Finally, the statistical mechanics for a gas of $`N`$ relativistic particles on a noncommutative space, in the symmetric gauge, is obtained from the partition function

$`Z_s`$ $`=`$ $`\left(s^{\frac{D3}{2}}e^{\frac{m^2}{2}s}{\displaystyle \underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}𝒢_0e^{s\frac{B}{2}(n+\frac{1}{2})}\right)^N,`$ (18)
$`=`$ $`\left[{\displaystyle \frac{𝒢_0e^{\frac{m^2}{2}s}s^{\frac{D3}{2}}}{\mathrm{sinh}(\frac{B}{2}s)}}\right]^N,`$
where $`𝒢_0`$ is the degeneracy factor due to the zero eigenvalue of the Hamiltonian 333Although this factor can be computed by using a regularization prescription, here this factor is absorbed as a normalization constant..

The thermodynamic properties of this system can be computed directly from (18).

## III The strong coupling regime for membranes in noncommutative spaces

In this section we will discuss the extension of the previous problem to membranes moving on a noncommutative space in the strong coupling regime.

A relativistic membrane is a $`p`$-dimensional object embedded on a $`D`$-dimensional flat spacetime and described by the lagrangean density

$$=\frac{T}{2}\sqrt{g^{(p+1)}}\left[g_{\alpha \beta }G^{\mu \nu }^\alpha x_\mu ^\beta x_\nu (p1)\right],$$

where $`g_{\alpha \beta }^{(p+1)}`$ ($`\alpha ,\beta =0,1,2,\mathrm{}p`$) is metric tensor on the world-volume, a$`G^{\mu \nu }`$ is the metric tensor where the $`p`$-brane is embedded with $`\mu ,\nu =0,1,2,\mathrm{},D`$ and $`T`$ the superficial tension.

The hamiltonian analysis yields to the following constraints

$`H_{}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(p^2+T^2g^{(p)}),`$ (19)
$`H_i`$ $`=`$ $`p_\mu _ix^\mu ,`$ (20)
where $`g^{(p)}`$ is the spatial metric determinant and $`T`$ is the superficial tension.

The strong coupling regime corresponds to $`T0`$ and, in this limit the constraints are

$`H_{}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}p^2,`$ (21)
$`H_i`$ $`=`$ $`p_\mu _ix^\mu ,`$ (22)
and the membrane becomes an infinite set of free massless relativistic particles moving perpendicularly to the $`p`$-dimensional surface.

In the special case of the tensionless string ($`p=1`$), each point of the string is associated with a massless relativistic particle and, as a consequence, all the points of the string are causally disconnected.

In this tensionless string approach the field $`x^\mu (\sigma ,\tau )`$ is replaced by $`x_i^\mu (\tau )`$, where $`i=1,2,\mathrm{},`$ is an infinite countable set labeling each point of the tensionless string.

Using this philosophy, we will start constructing tensionless strings.

### III.1 Tensionless strings from particles

Let us start by noticing that a tensionless string gamboa  is made up of infinite massless relativistic particles causally disconnected and, therefore, instead of (1) one have

$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{}\phi _1(x,s_1)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\phi _1}{s_1}},`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{}\phi _2(x,s_2)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\phi _2}{s_2}},`$
$`\mathrm{}`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{}\phi _k(x,s_k)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\phi _k}{s_k}}.`$ (23)
These equations can be solved by generalizing the Ansatz (2), i.e

$$\phi (x_1,\mathrm{},x_k,\mathrm{};s_1\mathrm{},s_k,\mathrm{})=\underset{i=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}e^{\frac{m^2}{2}s_i}\varphi (x_i),$$
(24)
where $`m^2`$ is an infrared regulator that will vanish at the end of the calculation.

The limit of an infinite number of particles is delicate but here –formally– one can take this limit, simply, assuming that in the continuous limit one can replace the set $`\{i\}`$ by an integral in $`\sigma `$ and, as a consequence, the propagation amplitude can be written as:

$`G`$ $`[x(\sigma ),x^{}(\sigma )]=`$ (25)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}𝒟s(\sigma )e^{\frac{m^2}{2}{\scriptscriptstyle 𝑑\sigma s(\sigma )}}G[x(\sigma ),x^{}(\sigma );s(\sigma )],`$
where $`G[x(\sigma ),x^{}(\sigma );s(\sigma )]`$ is given by

$$G[x(\sigma ),x^{}(\sigma );s(\sigma )]=s^{D/2}(\sigma )e^{{\scriptscriptstyle 𝑑\sigma {\scriptscriptstyle \frac{[\mathrm{\Delta }x(\sigma )]^2}{2s(\sigma )}}}}.$$
(26)
The formula (25) generalizes the proper-time method to the tensionless string case. Probably this approach to string theory was first used by Eguchi in gamboa .

Using (25) and (26), the partition function of an $`N`$ tensionless string gas is

$`Z[s(\sigma )]`$ $`=`$ $`\left[{\displaystyle 𝒟x(\sigma )G[x(\sigma ),x(\sigma );s(\sigma )]}\right]^N`$ (27)
$`=`$ $`\left(s^{D/2}e^{{\scriptscriptstyle 𝑑\sigma {\scriptscriptstyle \frac{m^2}{2}}s(\sigma )}}\right)^N.`$
This partition function reproduces correctly the results for the thermodynamics of a tensionless string gas string .

Indeed, from (27), the Helmholtz free energy is

$$F[s]=\frac{N}{s(\sigma )}\left[\frac{D}{2}\mathrm{ln}(s(\sigma ))+\frac{m^2}{2}𝑑\sigma s(\sigma )+\mathrm{ln}(𝒱)\right].$$

As $`1/s`$ is the temperature, then from the limit $`m^20`$ we see that $`F/T\mathrm{ln}(T)`$, again in agreement with other null string calculations string ; atick .

From the last equation one obtain that

$$P[s(\sigma )]V=\frac{N}{s(\sigma )},$$
(28)
is the state equation for an ideal tensionless string gas.

### III.2 Tensionless membranes from tensionless strings

In order to construct tensionless membranes, we begin by considering a membrane as an infinite collection of tensionless strings. Thus, if the membrane is a p-dimensional object, with local coordinates $`(\sigma _1,\mathrm{},\sigma _p)`$, then the propagation amplitude, formally, corresponds to (25), with the substitution

$$\sigma (\sigma _1,\mathrm{},\sigma _p).$$

Therefore, the partition function for a gas of $`N`$ tensionless membranes is

$`Z[s(\sigma )]=\left[\underset{n\mathrm{}}{lim}\left([s(\sigma )]^{D/2}e^{\frac{m^2}{2}{\scriptscriptstyle d^p\sigma s(\sigma )}}𝒱\right)^n\right]^N,`$
where $`n`$ is the number of tensionless strings.

One should note here that the expression

$$\left([s(\sigma )]^{D/2}e^{\frac{m^2}{2}{\scriptscriptstyle d^p\sigma s(\sigma )}}\right)^n,$$

formally emphasizes that a tensionless $`p`$-branes is made-up of $`n`$ tensionless strings.

However, this last expression was computed in (26) and in our case is

$$\underset{i=1}{\overset{p}{}}[s(\sigma _i)]^{D/2}e^{\frac{m_i^2}{2}{\scriptscriptstyle 𝑑\sigma _is(\sigma _i)}},$$

then, the total partition function for an ideal gas of $`N`$ tensionless p-branes is given by

$$Z=\underset{i=1}{\overset{p}{}}\left([s(\sigma _i)]^{D/2}e^{\frac{1}{2}m_i^2{\scriptscriptstyle 𝑑\sigma _is(\sigma _i)}}\right)^N.$$

In order to compute the state equation we proceed as follow: firstly one chooses $`s(\sigma _1)=s(\sigma _2)\mathrm{}=s(\sigma )`$ and one put also $`m_1=m_2=\mathrm{}=m`$, then

$$P[s(\sigma )]V=\frac{N}{s(\sigma )}.$$
(30)
The Helmholtz free energy, compared to the tensionless string case, has a different behavior. Indeed, the Helmholtz free energy becomes

$$F[s]=\frac{pN}{s(\sigma )}[\frac{D}{2}\mathrm{ln}(ps(\sigma ))+\frac{m^2}{2}d\sigma s(\sigma )+\mathrm{ln}(𝒱).].$$

and for $`s\mathrm{}`$, one has that the quantity $`sF\frac{D}{2}\mathrm{ln}[ps]`$ is similar to the string case but, in this case $`p`$ could smooth out the behaviour of $`sF`$.

### III.3 Including noncommutativity in Tensionless p-branes

Using the previous results, we can generalize our arguments in order to include noncommutativity in tensionless p-branes. In order to do that, one start considering a tensionless p-brane described by the field $`x_i^\mu (\tau )`$ with $`i`$ labeling the dependence in $`(\sigma _1,\sigma _2,..\sigma _p)`$. This field transforms as a scalar on the world-volume but as a vector in the space where the p-brane is embedded.

Let us suppose that the components –we say $`x_i^{D1}`$ and $`x_i^D`$– do not commute, then -in such case- the Green function can be written as

$`G[x(\sigma ),x^{}(\sigma );s(\sigma )]=`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}𝑑se^{\frac{m^2}{2}s}{\displaystyle \underset{k=0}{\overset{D3}{}}}\left[{\displaystyle 𝒟x_i^ke^{_0^1𝑑\tau \frac{1}{2s}(\dot{x}_i^k)^2}}\right]`$
$`\times `$ $`{\displaystyle 𝒟x_{i}^{}{}_{}{}^{(D2)}𝒟x_{i}^{}{}_{}{}^{(D1)}e^{_0^1𝑑\tau \frac{1}{2s}\left((\dot{x}_i^{(D2)})^2+(\dot{x}_i^{(D1)})^2\right)}}.`$
The integral in the second line in the RHS, corresponds formally to a non-relativistic particle with mass ($`s^1`$) moving in plane in the presence of a constant perpendicular magnetic field $`B`$. In the first line in the RHS, however, the integral formally correspond to the Green function for a set of $`p`$ free relativistic particles moving in $`(D3)`$-dimensional spacetime.

Thus, the calculation of these integral is straightforward. Indeed,

$`G[x(\sigma ),x^{}(\sigma )]`$ $`=`$
$`={\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}𝑑s[s(\sigma )]^{\frac{D3}{2}}`$ $`s(\sigma )e^{\frac{1}{2s}(\mathrm{\Delta }x_i^k)^2\frac{p}{2}m^2{\scriptscriptstyle 𝑑\sigma s(\sigma )}}`$
$`\times `$ $`\text{H. O.},`$
where H. O means the harmonic oscillator calculation for the two-dimensional relativistic Landau problem.

The partition function for this gas of $`N`$-tensionless $`p`$ branes

$`Z`$ $`[s(\sigma )]=\text{Tr}\left[G[x(\sigma ),x^{}(\sigma );s(\sigma )]\right]`$ (32)
$`=`$ $`\left([s(\sigma )]^{\frac{D3}{2}}e^{\frac{pm^2}{2}{\scriptscriptstyle 𝑑\sigma s(\sigma )}}{\displaystyle \underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}𝒢_0e^{\frac{B}{2}(n+\frac{1}{2}{\scriptscriptstyle d^p\sigma s(\sigma )})}\right)^N`$
$`=`$ $`\left[{\displaystyle \frac{𝒢_0[s(\sigma )]^{\frac{D3}{2}}}{\mathrm{sinh}\left(\frac{pB}{2}𝑑\sigma s(\sigma )\right)}}\right]^N.`$
Therefore, if we assume pairing interaction, then noncommutativity induces a motion for a tensionless $`p`$-branes confined via a harmonic potential oscillator.

## IV Interactions via noncommutativity in the phase space

In the previous section we argued how to construct noncommutative extended objects. In this section we would like to give an insight in a different physical context and to investigate the possibility of a possible interaction by means noncommutativity. This procedure, is simple extension of the noncommutative field.

From the non-relativistic point of view, apparently there is no problem with nonlocal communication peres . Indeed, let us suppose two non-relativistic particles in one dimension, labeled by coordinates $`x_1`$ and $`y_1`$ and canonical momenta $`p_1`$ and $`p_2`$ respectively. Note that the index refers now to the particles involved.

The Hamiltonian for this system is

$$H=\frac{1}{2}p_1^2+\frac{1}{2}p_2^2.$$
(33)
Although naively the particles in (33) are free, they can interact if we posit the commutator

$$[p_1,p_2]=iB,$$
(34)
where $`B`$ measures the strength of this interaction which can play –or not–the role of a magnetic field.

The exact equivalence between this system and the Landau problem is a subtle point because by considering only a noncommutative phase space with noncommutative parameters $`\theta `$ and $`B`$, one can show that noncommutative quantum mechanics and the Landau problem coincide if the relation $`\theta =1/B`$ is fulfilled, i.e. if we have just the magnetic length gamboa1 . From this example, one extract as conclusion that the equivalence between a physical system such as the Landau problem and noncommutative quantum mechanics only occurs for the critical point $`\theta B=1`$. For other values of $`\theta B`$, noncommutative quantum mechanics describes a physics completely different from the Landau problem.

The above example can be generalized for more particles; for instance, let us consider two free particles moving in a commutative plane.

The Hamiltonian is

$$H=\frac{1}{2}(p_{1x}^2+p_{1y}^2)+\frac{1}{2}(p_{2x}^2+p_{2y}^2).$$
(35)
Then, let us assume that the interaction is given by 444Of course this is a simplification because we are assuming that the noncommutative parameters are the same.

$$[p_{1x},p_{2x}]=iB,[p_{1y},p_{2y}]=iB,$$
(36)
then, as in the previous case, the Hamiltonian is

$$H=\frac{1}{2}(p_{1x}^2+p_{2x}^2)+\frac{1}{2}(p_{1y}^2+p_{2y}^2).$$
(37)
Thus, the commutator (36) and the hamiltonian (37) describe a couple of particles living on a plane and interacting formally with a magnetic field perpendicular to the plane.

We would like to remark that our procedure, of course, has generated a nonlocal interaction between both particles.

In the general case for $`N`$ particles moving on a $`D`$ dimensional commutative space, the generalization is straightforward.

Indeed, the Hamiltonian is

$$H=\frac{1}{2}(p_{1x}^2+p_{1y}^2+\mathrm{})+\frac{1}{2}(p_{2x}^2+p_{2y}^2+\mathrm{})+\mathrm{},$$
(38)
then the interaction can be written as

$$[p_i^a,p_j^b]=i\delta _{ij}ϵ^{ab}B,$$
(39)
where $`a,b`$ run on $`1,\mathrm{},N`$ labeling the different species of particles and the indexes $`i,j,\mathrm{}`$ select the vectorial component of $`𝐱`$ 555The components of the antisymmetric density tensor $`ϵ^{ab}`$ are defined as $`+1`$ if $`a>b`$..

If we rewrite the Hamiltonian as

$$H=\frac{1}{2}(p_{1x}^2+p_{1x}^2+\mathrm{})+\frac{1}{2}(p_{1y}^2+p_{1y}^2+\mathrm{})+\mathrm{}.$$
(40)
Thus, in the critical point, this generalized system is related to the quantum Hall effect as has been proposed using a different argument by poly2 .

Thus, in our context, one could conclude that if two particles interact via nonlocal communication, the phase space could be noncommutative. However, this fact does not exclude other possible mechanisms as a source of nonlocal interactions.

## V Conclusions

In conclusion, we have constructed the statistical mechanics of generally covariant systems such as $`p`$-branes assuming that for each point of the world-volume one define a noncommutative field. From these results, we have studied the quantum statistical mechanics of tensionless p-branes gas that is a qualitatively different system in comparison with the commutative one.

In addition, we have discussed a possible mechanism for to implement no-local interactions by means of noncommutativity that could be useful in the quantum Hall effect or other systems.

The possible cosmological implications of these results as well as other results are also studied in das .

###### Acknowledgements.

We would like to thank J. L. Cortés, A. P. Polychronakos and J. C. Retamal by discussions. This work has been partially supported by the grants 1010596, 1010976 from Fondecyt. F. Mendez thanks to INFN for a for postdoctoral fellowship.

## Appendix A statistical mechanics for a free relativistics particles gas

In this appendix we will study the statistical mechanics for a free relativistics particles gas. One start considering the partition function

$$Z=TrG[x_2,x_1],$$
(41)
where $`G[x_2,x_1;m^2]`$ is the Green function for a free particle in the sense discussed in section II and it is given by

$$G[x_2,x_1;m^2]=s^{\frac{D}{2}}e^{\frac{(\mathrm{\Delta }x)^2}{2s}},$$
(42)
where $`D`$ is the dimension of the spacetime.

In the euclidean space (41) is computed using periodic boundary conditions but instead of one use

$`x_1^0(0)`$ $`=`$ $`x_2^{(0)}(T)+2n\pi R,`$ (43)
$`x_1^{D1}`$ $`=`$ $`x_2^{D1}(T).`$ (44)
where $`i=1,2,\mathrm{},D1`$, $`n=0,\pm 1,\pm 2,\mathrm{}`$ are the Matsubara frequencies and $`R`$ is the compactification radius.

Using this fact, one find that the total partition function is

$`Z`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}Z^{(n)},`$ (45)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}e^{in\theta }Z^{(n)},`$ (46)
$`=`$ $`s^{D/2}\vartheta _3\left(e^{\frac{2\pi ^2R^2}{s}}\right)e^{i\theta },`$ (47)
where $`\vartheta _3`$ is the Jacobi function and $`\theta `$ is phase factor that plays the analogous role of the magnetic flux in the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Since $`s`$ play an analog role of $`\beta `$ in statistical mechanics, in the high temperatures limit $`\vartheta _31`$ and the logarithm of the partition function in this case is

$$\mathrm{ln}Z=N\left[\frac{m^2}{2}s\frac{D}{2}\mathrm{ln}s+\mathrm{ln}𝒱\right].$$
(48)
Thus, one find that in the spinless case and in the high temperature region, there are no Matsubara modes and the statistics is, of course, the Maxwell-Boltzmann one.


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# Fermion Propagators in Type II Fivebrane Backgrounds

## I Introduction

The quantum effect of gravity may shed new light on the unsolved problems in particle physics. It was pointed out that supersymmetry can be spontaneously and dynamically broken by the gravitino condensationWitten ; KMP  in non-trivial space-time backgrounds. It was also suggested that all the global symmetries in the low-energy effective field theory should be broken by the effect of quantum gravity Giddings-Strominger ; Coleman . It must be very important to investigate these possibilities in the string theory which is a strong candidate for the consistent theory of quantum gravity.

If we have a fermion propagator, or a fermion two point function, in some non-trivial backgrounds (space-time metric or gauge fields), we can obtain a value of the fermion pair condensate which can be an order parameter of some symmetry breaking. For example, in case of the SU$`(N)`$ gauge theory with massless vector-like fermions in the fundamental representation of the gauge group in Euclidean space-time, the zero-instanton sector in the path integral of the fermion two-point function gives Euclidean propagator, and the one-instanton sector gives the fermion pair condensate which triggers chiral symmetry breaking. In the same system in Minkowski space-time full propagator should include the mass function whose integral gives the value of the fermion pair condensate through the arguments of the operator product expansion. Therefore, it is interesting to investigate the fermion propagator in non-trivial space-time backgrounds in string theories.

The fivebrane background is a non-trivial background of space-time metric and fields in type IIA, type IIB and heterotic string theories Rey1 ; CHS1 ; CHS2 . The half of the original supersymmetry is broken, and the space-time Lorentz symmetry reduces to SO$`(5,1)`$ from SO$`(9,1)`$ SO$`(5,1)\times `$SO$`(4)`$ by the fivebrane background. Although general fivebrane backgrounds are realized as the solutions in the low-energy supergravity theory of each string theory, in some special case they can be described by world-sheet conformal field theories as the solutions of string theoriesRey2 ; AFK . Therefore, in principle we can calculate fermion propagators in string theories perturbatively with respect to the string coupling without any low-energy approximation Fainberg-Marshakov ; Marshakov .

The number of fermion zero-modes in non-trivial four-dimensional space of fivebrane backgrounds in low-energy supergravity theories is well-knownCHS2 . There are four fermion zero-modes in type II theoriesKitazawa1 , and two fermion zero-modes in heterotic theories Katagiri-Kitazawa . If we believe the path integral formalism of the supergravity theory, these numbers mean four fermion condensations in type II theories and fermion pair condensations in heterotic theories in non-trivial four-dimensional space. Although the case of the heterotic theory is much more interesting than the case of the type II theory in the strategy of extracting the value of the fermion pair condensate from the propagator, there are some technical difficulties to calculate the fermion propagator (especially for gravitino and dilatino) in heterotic string theories. (The calculation of the gaugino propagator is possible, and the work is underway.) In this paper we calculate the gravitino and dilatino propagator in the fivebrane background in type II string theories as the first attempt. If the path integral formalism of the supergravity theory is correct, there should be no propagations of the light fields in SO$`(4)`$ (local Lorentz) spinor representations.

The paper is organized as follows. In the next section we give a brief review of the fivebrane background in type II string theories. The conformal field theory for the fivebrane background is introduced. In Sec.III the closed string boundary state to which a single fermion state (NS-R state) can couple is introduced. In Sec.IV fermion propagators are calculated by evaluating the transition amplitude between boundary states by the propagator operator in the world-sheet conformal field theory. In the last section we summarize our results and give some comments.

## II Fivebrane backgrounds in type II string theories

The fivebrane background (or the NS5-brane) is a BPS configuration which preserves half of the supersymmetry of the theory. In type II supergravity theories, which are the low-energy effective theories of type IIA and type IIB string theories, the space-time metric configuration of the fivebrane background (NS5-branes at the origin) is explicitly given by

$`g_{\mu \nu }`$ $`=`$ $`e^{2\mathrm{\Phi }}\delta _{\mu \nu },`$ (1)
$`e^{2\mathrm{\Phi }}`$ $`=`$ $`e^{2\mathrm{\Phi }_0}+{\displaystyle \frac{n\alpha ^{}}{r^2}},`$ (2)
where $`n`$ is an integer, $`\mu =6,7,8,9`$ are the index of the non-trivial four-dimensional space in the whole ten-dimensional space-time, and $`r^2={\displaystyle \underset{\mu =6}{\overset{9}{}}}x^\mu x^\mu `$. We use $`\widehat{\mu }=0,1,\mathrm{},9`$ as the index of the whole ten-dimensional space-time, and use $`\overline{\mu }=0,1,\mathrm{},5`$ as the index of the flat six-dimensional Minkowski space-time in the whole ten-dimensional space-time from now on. The geometry of the space-time is $`M^6\times R\times S^3`$ with varying radius of $`S^3`$ from $`\sqrt{n\alpha ^{}}`$ to infinity along with the value of the coordinate of $`R`$ from $`\mathrm{}`$ to $`\mathrm{}`$. These solutions in low-energy supergravity theories are considered to be the exact solutions in type II string theories. The world-sheet conformal field theory for these backgrounds can be explicitly constructed in case of $`e^{2\mathrm{\Phi }_0}=0`$. In this case the space-time geometry is $`M^6\times W_k^{(4)}`$, where $`W_k^{(4)}`$ is the four-dimensional group manifold of SU$`(2)_k\times `$U$`(1)`$ with Kač-Moody level $`k`$. The geometry of $`W_k^{(4)}`$ is again $`R\times S^3`$, but the radius of $`S^3`$ is fixed with $`\alpha ^{}/Q`$, where $`Q=\sqrt{\alpha ^{}/(k+2)}`$.

In case of the flat space-time the world-sheet theory of the type II string theory consists of one free bosonic field $`X^{\widehat{\mu }}(z,\overline{z})`$ and two free fermionic fields $`\psi ^{\widehat{\mu }}(z)`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{\psi }^{\widehat{\mu }}(\overline{z})`$. The system has $`(N,\stackrel{~}{N})=(1,1)`$ superconformal symmetry with the central charge $`c_m=\stackrel{~}{c}_m=10+10/2=15`$ which is cancelled by the ghost contribution $`c_g=\stackrel{~}{c}_g=26+11=15`$. The non-trivial background $`M^6\times W_k^{(4)}`$ can be described by replacing unconstrained fields $`X^\mu `$ ($`\mu =6,7,8,9`$) with the fields constrained on the group manifold of SU$`(2)_k\times `$U$`(1)`$. Namely, the part of the world-sheet theory corresponding to the space-time coordinates of $`\mu =6,7,8,9`$ is replaced by the combination of the SU$`(2)_k`$ WZW model and the linear-dilaton theory. The new part has $`(N,\stackrel{~}{N})=(4,4)`$ superconformal symmetry, and has the same central charge of the original part: $`c_{4D}=6`$.

The holomorphic sector of the SU$`(2)_k\times `$U$`(1)`$ part is described by three SU$`(2)_k`$ bosonic currents $`J_i(z)`$ ($`i=1,2,3`$), one free bosonic current $`J_4(z)=X^{\mu =6}`$ and four free fermionic fields $`\mathrm{\Psi }_a`$ ($`a=1,2,3,4`$). These currents and fields satisfy the following operator product expansion. (We set $`\alpha ^{}=2`$ from now on in this section for simplicity.)

$`J_i(z)J_j(z^{})`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{k}{2}}{\displaystyle \frac{\delta _{ij}}{(zz^{})^2}}+ϵ_{ijl}{\displaystyle \frac{J_l}{zz^{}}},`$ (3)
$`J_4(z)J_4(z^{})`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{(zz^{})^2}},`$ (4)
$`\mathrm{\Psi }_a(z)\mathrm{\Psi }_b(z^{})`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\delta _{ab}}{zz^{}}}.`$ (5)
The $`N=4`$ superconformal symmetry transformation is generated by the following energy-momentum tensor $`T^{W_k^{(4)}}(z)`$, supercurrents $`G_a^{W_k^{(4)}}(z)`$ and SU$`(2)_n`$ currents $`S_i(z)`$.

$`T^{W_k^{(4)}}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{2}{k+2}}J_i^2+J_4^2\mathrm{\Psi }_a\mathrm{\Psi }_a+QJ_4\right),`$ (6)
$`G_i^{W_k^{(4)}}`$ $`=`$ $`\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{2}{k+2}}}\left(J_i\mathrm{\Psi }_4ϵ_{ijl}J_j\mathrm{\Psi }_l+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}ϵ_{ijl}\mathrm{\Psi }_4\mathrm{\Psi }_j\mathrm{\Psi }_l\right)J_4\mathrm{\Psi }_iQ\mathrm{\Psi }_i,`$ (7)
$`G_4^{W_k^{(4)}}`$ $`=`$ $`\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{2}{k+2}}}\left(J_i\mathrm{\Psi }_i+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{3!}}ϵ_{ijl}\mathrm{\Psi }_i\mathrm{\Psi }_j\mathrm{\Psi }_l\right)+J_4\mathrm{\Psi }_4+Q\mathrm{\Psi }_4,`$ (8)
$`S_i`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\left(\mathrm{\Psi }_4\mathrm{\Psi }_i+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}ϵ_{ijl}\mathrm{\Psi }_j\mathrm{\Psi }_l\right).`$ (9)
The background charge $`Q`$ determines the gradient of the linear-dilaton background $`\mathrm{\Phi }=QX^{\mu =6}`$. The world-sheet field $`X^{\mu =6}(z,\overline{z})`$ is called the Feigin-Fuchs field, and the theory of this field is called the linear-dilaton theory. The value $`Q=\sqrt{\alpha ^{}/(k+2)}=\sqrt{2/(k+2)}`$ is required for the correct central charge of $`c_{4D}=6`$, and the Kač-Moody level $`n`$ of SU$`(2)_n`$ is fixed to unity due to the relation of $`n=c_{4D}/6`$. The anti-holomorphic sector has exactly the same structure.

The world-sheet theory of the $`M^6`$ part consists of one free bosonic field $`X^{\overline{\mu }}(z,\overline{z})`$ and two free fermionic fields $`\mathrm{\Psi }^{\overline{\mu }}(z)`$ and $`\overline{\mathrm{\Psi }}^{\overline{\mu }}(\overline{z})`$. In the holomorphic sector the energy-momentum tenor $`T^{M^6}(z)`$ and the supercurrent $`G^{M^6}(z)`$ are

$`T^{M^6}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}X^{\overline{\mu }}X_{\overline{\mu }}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{\Psi }^{\overline{\mu }}\mathrm{\Psi }_{\overline{\mu }},`$ (10)
$`G^{M^6}`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{\Psi }^{\overline{\mu }}X_{\overline{\mu }}.`$ (11)
The anti-holomorphic sector has exactly the same structure, and the $`M^6`$ part has $`(N,\stackrel{~}{N})=(1,1)`$ superconformal symmetry. The whole world-sheet theory has $`(N,\stackrel{~}{N})=(1,1)`$ superconformal symmetry, and we take $`T=T^{M^6}+T^{W_k^{(4)}}`$ and $`G=G^{M^6}+G_4^{W_k^{(4)}}`$ as the currents of that symmetry. The super-Virasoro generators $`L_n`$ ($`n𝐙`$) and $`G_r`$ ($`r𝐙+1/2`$ in Neveu-Schwarz sector and $`r𝐙`$ in Ramond sector) are defined by

$`L_n`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{dz}{2\pi iz}z^{n+2}T(z)},`$ (12)
$`G_r`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{dz}{2\pi iz}z^{r+3/2}G(z)}.`$ (13)
The anti-holomorphic sector has exactly the same structure. The partition function, or one-loop vacuum amplitude, is explicitly calculated in Ref.AFK  for even $`k`$. We consider $`k`$ as an even number from now on. The difference between type IIA and type IIB theories is the difference of the usual universal GSO projection. In addition to the universal GSO projection, we have to do the additional GSO projection by which the half breaking of the space-time supersymmetry is realized in the world-sheet theory.

## III Boundary states for Propagators

The propagator of the closed string in type II theories can be calculated as the transition amplitude between two appropriate boundary states by the propagator operator in the world-sheet conformal field theory. In case of the flat space-time, the propagator of bosonic states (in the bosonic string theory) is extensively studied in Ref.CMNP , and the propagators in the superstring theory are calculated in Refs.Fainberg-Marshakov ; Marshakov . In order to obtain the propagator in the field theory limit (not the low-energy limit), the point boundary states, which describe the states of the closed string shrinking to a point in space-time, should be used. For the bosonic (NS-NS or R-R) states of strings, we can use D(-1)-brane, or D-instanton, statesDFPSLR :

$$|B(y)=|B_X(y)|B_\psi |B_{\mathrm{gh}}|B_{\mathrm{sgh}},$$
(14)
where

$$|B_X(y)=\delta ^{10}(\widehat{x}y)\mathrm{exp}\left\{\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{1}{n}\alpha _n^{\widehat{\mu }}\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_{n\widehat{\mu }}\right\}|0$$
(15)
describes the state of the closed string shrinking at a space-time point of $`y`$ (or the state where the edge of the open string is fixed at a space-time point of $`y`$), $`|B_\psi `$ is the world-sheet fermion contribution which is determined by the supersymmetry and T-duality, and $`|B_{\mathrm{gh}}|B_{\mathrm{sgh}}`$ is the contribution of world-sheet ghost fields, the $`bc`$-ghost state and the $`\beta \gamma `$-ghost state, respectively. (We are using the notation of Ref.Polchinski  except for a factor $`i`$ for world-sheet fermion fields.) The propagator

$$P_B(y^{}y)=B(y^{})|D_B|B(y)$$
(16)
with the propagator operator

$$D_B=\frac{\alpha ^{}}{4\pi }\frac{1}{2}_{|z|1}d^2z\frac{1}{|z|^2}z^{L_0}\overline{z}^{\stackrel{~}{L}_0}$$
(17)
can be explicitly calculated.

For the fermionic (NS-R or R-NS) states of strings, we can not use the D-instanton states, because they do not couple with a single fermionic state. Therefore, we have to introduce some source boundary states which couple with a single fermionic state. The source states do not necessarily correspond to some physical objects like D-branes. We concretely introduce the following boundary state for NS-R fermionic states.

$$|B(y,𝐬)^{\widehat{\mu }}=|B_X(y)|B_{\mathrm{gh}}\psi _{1/2}^{\widehat{\mu }}|0_{\mathrm{NS}}\stackrel{~}{|\psi _𝐬}_\mathrm{R},$$
(18)
where $`|0_{\mathrm{NS}}`$ is the Neveu-Schwarz vacuum state and $`\stackrel{~}{|\psi _𝐬}_\mathrm{R}`$ is the Ramond vacuum state. The spin state $`𝐬=s_1s_2s_3s_4s_5`$ with $`s_i=\pm 1/2`$ for $`i=1,2,\mathrm{},5`$ is described by

$$\psi _𝐬=\eta _1\eta _2\eta _3\eta _4\eta _5$$
(19)
with

$$\eta _i=\left(\begin{array}{c}1\\ 0\end{array}\right),\left(\begin{array}{c}0\\ 1\end{array}\right)$$
(20)
for $`s_i=1/2,1/2`$, respectively. The $`bc`$-ghost state $`|B_{\mathrm{gh}}`$ is explicitly given by

$$|B_{\mathrm{gh}}=\mathrm{exp}\left\{\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\left(c_n\stackrel{~}{b}_nb_n\stackrel{~}{c}_n\right)\right\}\frac{c_0+\stackrel{~}{c}_0}{2}|\stackrel{~}{|}$$
(21)
and

$$B_{\mathrm{gh}}|=\stackrel{~}{|}|\frac{\stackrel{~}{b}_0b_0}{2}\mathrm{exp}\left\{\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}(\stackrel{~}{b}_nc_n\stackrel{~}{c}_nb_n)\right\}.$$
(22)
Using the propagator operator

$$D_F=\frac{\alpha ^{}}{4\pi }\stackrel{~}{G}_0\frac{1}{2}_{|z|1}d^2z\frac{1}{|z|^2}z^{L_0}\overline{z}^{\stackrel{~}{L}_0},$$
(23)
we can explicitly calculate the fermion propagator as follows.

$`P_F(y^{}y)_{𝐬^{}𝐬}^{\widehat{\mu }\widehat{\nu }}`$ $`=`$ $`{}_{}{}^{\widehat{\mu }}B(y^{},𝐬^{})|D_F|B(y,𝐬)_{}^{\widehat{\nu }}`$ (24)
$`=`$ $`i{\displaystyle \frac{\sqrt{\alpha ^{}}}{2}}{\displaystyle \underset{N_X=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}d(N_X){\displaystyle \frac{d^{10}q}{(2\pi )^{10}}\overline{\psi }_𝐬^{}q_{\widehat{\rho }}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\widehat{\rho }}\psi _𝐬\eta ^{\widehat{\mu }\widehat{\nu }}\frac{1}{q^2+M_{N_X}^2}e^{iq_{\widehat{\sigma }}(y^{}y)^{\widehat{\sigma }}}},`$
where $`M_{N_X}^2=4N_X/\alpha ^{}`$ with the level $`N_X`$ of the bosonic excitations on the world-sheet, and $`d(N_X)`$ is the degeneracy of the open superstring state with the bosonic level $`N_X`$ and zero fermionic level. In the momentum space

$$P_F(q)_{𝐬^{}𝐬}^{\widehat{\mu }\widehat{\nu }}=\underset{N_X=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}d(N_X)\overline{\psi }_𝐬^{}q_{\widehat{\rho }}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\widehat{\rho }}\psi _𝐬\frac{\eta ^{\widehat{\mu }\widehat{\nu }}}{q^2+M_{N_X}^2}.$$
(25)
This result can be understood as the sum of the propagators of the fields which satisfy some non-local field equations. The different GSO projection for type IIA and type IIB theories is corresponding to take the different chirality for $`𝐬^{}`$ and $`𝐬`$. Not all the NS-R fermionic states in type IIA and type IIB string theories in the flat space-time are included in this propagator, but all the NS-R massless fermionic states are included.

To do the same in the fivebrane background, we need the explicit expression of the D-instanton state for the bosonic sector in the fivebrane background.

The D-brane boundary state in the SU$`(2)_k`$ WZW model is discussed in Refs.Alekseev-Schomerus ; FFFS . It is possible to explicitly construct the D-instanton state. The place where the edge of the open string is fixed is the north or south pole of $`S^3`$. The D-instanton state is the Cardy’s state

$$|C=\underset{l=0}{\overset{k}{}}\sqrt{S_0^l}|l,$$
(26)
where

$$S_l^{}{}_{}{}^{l}=\sqrt{\frac{2}{k+2}}\mathrm{sin}\left(\pi \frac{(l^{}+1)(l+1)}{k+2}\right)$$
(27)
and $`|l`$ is the Ishibashi state which satisfies

$$l^{}|q^{\frac{1}{2}\left(L_0^{\mathrm{WZW}}+\stackrel{~}{L}_0^{\mathrm{WZW}}\right)}|l=\delta _{l^{}l}q^{S_{l,k}}\chi _l^{(k)}(q)$$
(28)
with $`S_{l,k}=((l+1)/2)^2/(k+2)3/24`$ and the SU$`(2)_k`$ character $`\chi _l^{(k)}(q)`$. In the state $`|C`$ there is no explicit dependence on the spatial point where the edge of the open string is fixed. This is due to the fact that the state is constructed in the SU$`(2)_k`$ invariant way.

The D-brane boundary state in the linear-dilaton background is investigated in Refs.Li ; Rajaraman-Rozali . It is impossible to impose Dirichlet boundary condition in conformal invariant way to the Feigin-Fuchs field because of the non-zero background charge $`Q`$Li . Although we can construct the boundary state which satisfies Dirichlet boundary condition in the same way as Eq.(15), it is not conformal invariant. The Dirichlet boundary state can be defined, not directly applying the Dirichlet boundary condition, but using the Cardy’s conditionRajaraman-Rozali . The states are described in the similar way of Eq.(26):

$$|B_{\mathrm{FF}}(y)=\frac{dp}{2\pi }e^{ipy}|p_{\mathrm{FF}},$$
(29)
where

$${}_{\mathrm{FF}}{}^{}p^{}|q^{L_0^{\mathrm{FF}}+\stackrel{~}{L}_0^{\mathrm{FF}}\frac{c_{\mathrm{FF}}}{12}}|p_{\mathrm{FF}}^{}=\delta (p^{}p)q^{p^2}q^{1/12}\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}(1q^{2n})^1$$
(30)
with $`c_{\mathrm{FF}}=1+6Q^2/\alpha ^{}`$. The states $`|p_{\mathrm{FF}}`$ with a continuous parameter $`\mathrm{}<p<\mathrm{}`$ are the highest weight states of the continuous representation of the linear-dilaton conformal field theory with weight $`\frac{\alpha ^{}}{4}(p^2+(Q/\alpha ^{})^2)`$. The boundary state $`|B(y)_{\mathrm{FF}}`$ satisfies the Cardy’s condition.

$$B_{\mathrm{FF}}(y)|q^{L_0^{\mathrm{FF}}+\stackrel{~}{L}_0^{\mathrm{FF}}\frac{c_{\mathrm{FF}}}{12}}|B_{\mathrm{FF}}(y)=\stackrel{~}{q}^{1/12}\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\left(1\stackrel{~}{q}^{2n}\right)^1,$$
(31)
where $`\stackrel{~}{q}e^{2\pi i/\tau }`$ with $`qe^{2\pi i\tau }`$. The parameter $`y`$ does not necessarily mean the position where the edge of the open string is fixed. But in small $`Q`$ limit, which is the limit we will consider, it has the meaning of the position. Here, we note that the discrete representation of the linear dilaton conformal field theory need not be considered in the calculation of the tree-level propagator corresponding to the two-point amplitude at genus zeroAFK .

Using the D-instanton boundary states for the SU$`(2)_k`$ WZW model and the linear-dilaton theory, we introduce the following boundary state for the calculation of the fermion propagator.

$$|B(y,𝐬)^{\widehat{\mu }}=|B_X(y)_{M^6}|B_{\mathrm{FF}}(y)|C|B_{\mathrm{gh}}|B_\psi (𝐬)^{\widehat{\mu }},$$
(32)
where $`|B_\psi (𝐬)^{\widehat{\mu }}`$ is the contribution of the world-sheet fermions in NS-R sector. The state $`|B_\psi (𝐬)^{\widehat{\mu }}`$ has a little complicated form due to the additional GSO projection.

$$|B_\psi (𝐬)^{\widehat{\mu }}=\{\begin{array}{cc}\psi _{1/2}^{\overline{\mu }}|0_{\mathrm{NS}}\stackrel{~}{|\psi _𝐬}_\mathrm{R},\hfill & (s_4,s_5)=(1/2,1/2),(1/2,1/2)\hfill \\ \psi _{1/2}^\mu |0_{\mathrm{NS}}\stackrel{~}{|\psi _𝐬}_\mathrm{R},\hfill & (s_4,s_5)=(1/2,1/2),(1/2,1/2)\hfill \end{array}$$
(33)
with totally odd number of $`s_i=1/2`$ (odd ten-dimensional chirality) for type IIA theory and with totally even number of $`s_i=1/2`$ (even ten-dimensional chirality) for type IIB theory. The space-time index of the state is restricted depending on the spin state, and the number of the allowed states is the half of the states in case of the flat space-time. This is the realization of the half supersymmetry breaking by the fivebrane background in the world-sheet theoryAFK .

Now, we can calculate the fermion propagator in the fivebrane background as the transition amplitude between these source boundary states by the propagator operator of Eq.(23) with the operators $`L_0`$, $`\stackrel{~}{L}_0`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{G}_0`$ defined in the previous section.

## IV Fermion propagators in fivebrane backgrounds

The explicit form of the fermion propagator is described as follows.

$`P_F(y^{}y)_{𝐬^{}𝐬}^{\widehat{\mu }\widehat{\nu }}`$ $`=`$ $`{}_{}{}^{\widehat{\mu }}B(y^{},𝐬^{})|D_F|B(y,𝐬)_{}^{\widehat{\nu }}`$ (34)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\alpha ^{}}{4\pi }}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}{\displaystyle _{|z|1}}d^2z{\displaystyle \frac{1}{|z|^2}}{}_{}{}^{\widehat{\mu }}B(y^{},𝐬^{})|\stackrel{~}{G}_0z^{L_0}\overline{z}^{\stackrel{~}{L}_0}|B(y,𝐬)_{}^{\widehat{\nu }}.`$
Here,

$`L_0`$ $`=`$ $`L_0^{M^6}+L_0^{\mathrm{FF}}+L_0^{WZW}+L_0^{\mathrm{ghost}}\nu ,`$ (35)
$`\stackrel{~}{L}_0`$ $`=`$ $`\stackrel{~}{L}_0^{M^6}+\stackrel{~}{L}_0^{\mathrm{FF}}+\stackrel{~}{L}_0^{WZW}+\stackrel{~}{L}_0^{\mathrm{ghost}}\stackrel{~}{\nu }`$ (36)
with

$`L_0^{M^6}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\alpha ^{}}{4}}p^{\overline{\mu }}p_{\overline{\mu }}+{\displaystyle \underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}\alpha _n^{\overline{\mu }}\alpha _{\overline{\mu }n}+{\displaystyle \underset{r+\nu =1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}r\psi _r^{\overline{\mu }}\psi _{\overline{\mu }r},`$ (37)
$`L_0^{\mathrm{FF}}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\alpha ^{}}{4}}\left(p^6{\displaystyle \frac{iQ}{\alpha ^{}}}\right)^2+{\displaystyle \frac{\alpha ^{}}{4}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{Q}{\alpha ^{}}}\right)^2+{\displaystyle \underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}\alpha _n^6\alpha _n^6+{\displaystyle \underset{r+\nu =1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}r\psi _r^6\psi _r^6,`$ (38)
$`L_0^{WZW}`$ $`=`$ $`L_0^{WZW}|_B+{\displaystyle \underset{r+\nu =1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}r\psi _r^\mu ^{}\psi _r^\mu ^{},`$ (39)
$`L_0^{\mathrm{ghost}}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}n\left(b_nc_n+c_nb_n\right)+{\displaystyle \underset{r+\nu =1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}r\left(\beta _r\gamma _r\gamma _r\beta _r\right),`$ (40)
and the same for $`\stackrel{~}{L}_0`$. The eigenvalue of the momentum operator $`p^6iQ/\alpha ^{}`$ corresponds to $`p`$ in Eq.(29), $`L_0^{WZW}|_B`$ is the bosonic contribution, and $`\mu ^{}=7,8,9`$. For NS-R sector, $`\nu =1/2`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{\nu }=0`$. Furthermore,

$$\stackrel{~}{G}_0=\stackrel{~}{G}_0^{M^6}+\stackrel{~}{G}_0^{W_k^{(4)}}+\stackrel{~}{G}_0^{\mathrm{ghost}}$$
(41)
with

$`\stackrel{~}{G}_0^{M^6}`$ $`=`$ $`i\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{\alpha ^{}}{2}}}p^{\overline{\mu }}\stackrel{~}{\psi }_{\overline{\mu }0}+\text{fermion non-zero modes},`$ (42)
$`\stackrel{~}{G}_0^{W_k^{(4)}}`$ $`=`$ $`\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{2}{\alpha ^{}}}}\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{2}{k+2}}}\stackrel{~}{J}_0^\mu ^{}\stackrel{~}{\psi }_0^\mu ^{}i\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{\alpha ^{}}{2}}}\left(p^6{\displaystyle \frac{iQ}{\alpha ^{}}}\right)\stackrel{~}{\psi }_0^6+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{3!}}\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{2}{k+2}}}ϵ_{\mu ^{}\nu ^{}\rho ^{}}\stackrel{~}{\psi }_0^\mu ^{}\stackrel{~}{\psi }_0^\nu ^{}\stackrel{~}{\psi }_0^\rho ^{}`$ (43)
$`+`$ $`\text{fermion non-zero modes},`$
$`\stackrel{~}{G}_0^{\mathrm{ghost}}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{n=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}n\stackrel{~}{\beta }_n\stackrel{~}{c}_n+2\stackrel{~}{b}_n\stackrel{~}{\gamma }_n\right).`$ (44)
Here, $`\stackrel{~}{J}_0^\mu ^{}`$ is the zero-mode in the mode expansion of the WZW current $`\stackrel{~}{J}^\mu ^{}`$ ($`\stackrel{~}{J}_i`$ with $`i=1,2,3`$ in Sec.II correspond to $`\stackrel{~}{J}^\mu ^{}`$ with $`\mu ^{}=7,8,9`$, respectively). We did not explicitly write the contributions of the non-zero modes of the world-sheet fermions, because they give no contribution to the fermion propagator of Eq.(34).

The calculation is straightforward except for one quantity

$$C|\stackrel{~}{J}_0^\mu ^{}z^{L_0^{\mathrm{WZW}}|_B}\overline{z}^{\stackrel{~}{L}_0^{\mathrm{WZW}}|_B}|C.$$
(45)
We can show that this quantity vanishes by using the conditions of conformal and SU$`(2)_k`$ invariance

$`\stackrel{~}{L}_0^{\mathrm{WZW}}|_B|C`$ $`=`$ $`L_0^{\mathrm{WZW}}|_B|C,`$ (46)
$`\stackrel{~}{J}_0^\mu ^{}|C`$ $`=`$ $`J_0^\mu ^{}|C,`$ (47)
and the definition of the Ishibashi state

$$|l=\underset{N,j}{}|l;N,jU\stackrel{~}{|l;N,j},$$
(48)
where $`U`$ is an unitary operator introduced in Ref.Ishibashi , and the states $`|l;N,j`$ are in the orthonormal representations of the SU$`(2)_k`$ Kač-Moody algebra with $`0lk`$. The states $`|l;0,j`$ are in the orthonormal representations of the SU$`(2)`$ algebra with $`ljl`$, and $`N`$ denotes the ways of operating some $`\stackrel{~}{J}_{n\mu ^{}}`$ to the states. We obtain

$$C|\stackrel{~}{J}_0^\mu ^{}z^{L_0^{\mathrm{WZW}}|_B}\overline{z}^{\stackrel{~}{L}_0^{\mathrm{WZW}}|_B}|C=\underset{l,N}{}S_0{}_{}{}^{l}|z|^{2L_0(l,N)}\underset{j}{}l;N,j|J_0^\mu ^{}|l;N,j=0,$$
(49)
where $`L_0(l,N)`$ is the eigenvalue of the operator $`L_0^{\mathrm{WZW}}|_B`$ on the state $`|l;N,j`$. The second equality comes from the fact that the trace of $`J_0^\mu ^{}`$ over a representation of SU$`(2)`$ is zero.

The result of the calculation is

$`P_F(y^{}y)_{𝐬^{}𝐬}^{\widehat{\mu }\widehat{\nu }}`$ $`=`$ $`i{\displaystyle \frac{\sqrt{\alpha ^{}}}{2}}{\displaystyle \frac{d^7q}{(2\pi )^7}e^{iq_{\stackrel{~}{\rho }}(y^{}y)^{\stackrel{~}{\rho }}}\overline{\psi }_𝐬^{}\left(q_{\stackrel{~}{\sigma }}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\stackrel{~}{\sigma }}+i\frac{Q}{\alpha ^{}}\frac{1}{3!}ϵ_{\lambda ^{}\kappa ^{}\omega ^{}}\mathrm{\Gamma }^\lambda ^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }^\kappa ^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }^\omega ^{}\right)\psi _𝐬\eta ^{\widehat{\mu }\widehat{\nu }}}`$ (50)
$`{\displaystyle \underset{N_X=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}d(N_X){\displaystyle \underset{l=0}{\overset{k}{}}}{\displaystyle \underset{m=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}(2(k+2)m+l+1)\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{2}{k+2}}}\mathrm{sin}\left(\pi {\displaystyle \frac{l+1}{k+2}}\right)`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{q^{\stackrel{~}{\delta }}q_{\stackrel{~}{\delta }}+\left(\frac{Q}{\alpha ^{}}\right)^2+M_{N_X}^2+\frac{4}{\alpha ^{}}\left((k+2)m^2+(l+1)m\right)}},`$
where $`\stackrel{~}{\rho },\stackrel{~}{\sigma },\stackrel{~}{\delta }=0,1,\mathrm{},6`$. We used the explicit formula for SU$`(2)_k`$ character

$$\chi _l^{(k)}(q)=\frac{1}{\eta (\tau )^3}2(k+2)\underset{m=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\left(m+\frac{l+1}{2(k+2)}\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(2\pi i(k+2)\tau \left(m+\frac{l+1}{2(k+2)}\right)^2\right),$$
(51)
where $`q=e^{2\pi i\tau }`$Gepner-Witten . In the denominator of the last factor of Eq.(50) the first term is the squared energy-momentum in the flat seven-dimensional space-time, the second term is the universal mass shift due to the linear-dilaton background Kiritsis-Kounnas , and the third term is the mass by the usual string excitations ($`M_{N_X}^2=4N_X/\alpha ^{}`$). The fourth term is the contribution which breaks the ten-dimensional space-time interpretation in finite $`k`$.

The space-time interpretation of $`M^6W_4^{(k)}`$ in this world-sheet theory is possible only in large $`k`$ limit. In large $`k`$ limit the contribution of $`m=0`$ dominates in Eq.(50). The propagator becomes

$`P_F(y^{}y)_{𝐬^{}𝐬}^{\widehat{\mu }\widehat{\nu }}`$ $``$ $`i{\displaystyle \frac{\sqrt{\alpha ^{}}}{2}}{\displaystyle \underset{N_X=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}d(N_X){\displaystyle \frac{d^7q}{(2\pi )^7}e^{iq_{\stackrel{~}{\rho }}(y^{}y)^{\stackrel{~}{\rho }}}\underset{l=0}{\overset{k}{}}\left(l+1\right)\sqrt{\frac{2}{k+2}}\mathrm{sin}\left(\pi \frac{l+1}{k+2}\right)}`$ (52)
$`\overline{\psi }_𝐬^{}\left(q_{\stackrel{~}{\sigma }}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\stackrel{~}{\sigma }}+i{\displaystyle \frac{Q}{\alpha ^{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{3!}}ϵ_{\lambda ^{}\kappa ^{}\omega ^{}}\mathrm{\Gamma }^\lambda ^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }^\kappa ^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }^\omega ^{}\right)\psi _𝐬\eta ^{\widehat{\mu }\widehat{\nu }}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{q^{\stackrel{~}{\delta }}q_{\stackrel{~}{\delta }}+\left(\frac{Q}{\alpha ^{}}\right)^2+M_{N_X}^2}}.`$
The summation over $`l`$ is exactly calculable.

$$\underset{l=0}{\overset{k}{}}\left(l+1\right)\sqrt{\frac{2}{k+2}}\mathrm{sin}\left(\pi \frac{l+1}{k+2}\right)=\sqrt{\frac{k+2}{2}}\frac{\mathrm{sin}\frac{\pi }{k+2}}{1\mathrm{cos}\frac{\pi }{k+2}}.$$
(53)
This factor diverges in large $`k`$ limit as $`(\sqrt{k+2})^3`$, and can be understood as the correspondence of the momentum integration in the $`S^3`$ space with the radius $`\alpha ^{}/Q=\sqrt{\alpha ^{}(k+2)}`$. Because in the state $`|C`$ there is no explicit spatial point where the edge of the open string is fixed in $`S^3`$, the momentum in $`S^3`$ is not explicitly introduced. The propagation in $`S^3`$ can not be described by using this boundary state. We obtain the propagator in the momentum space as

$$P_F(q)_{𝐬^{}𝐬}^{\widehat{\mu }\widehat{\nu }}=\underset{N_X=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}d(N_X)\overline{\psi }_𝐬^{}\left(q_{\stackrel{~}{\sigma }}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\stackrel{~}{\sigma }}+i\frac{Q}{\alpha ^{}}\frac{1}{3!}ϵ_{\lambda ^{}\kappa ^{}\omega ^{}}\mathrm{\Gamma }^\lambda ^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }^\kappa ^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }^\omega ^{}\right)\psi _𝐬\frac{\eta ^{\widehat{\mu }\widehat{\nu }}}{q^{\stackrel{~}{\delta }}q_{\stackrel{~}{\delta }}+\left(\frac{Q}{\alpha ^{}}\right)^2+M_{N_X}^2}.$$
(54)
This result has the similar form to the propagator in the flat space-time, Eq.(25), but it includes some additional contribution which is proportional to three gamma matrices. It would be interesting if the term could result some interesting phenomena like fermion pair condensation, but it is not the case. We have to do further the additional GSO projection. As can be seen in Eq.(33), the additional GSO projection on the spinor index can be described as the six-dimensional chirality projection. The polarization spinor $`\psi _𝐬`$ should satisfy appropriate chirality conditions. The final result can be described as follows not explicitly including $`\psi _𝐬`$, but using projection operators.

$$P_F(q)^{\widehat{\mu }\widehat{\nu }}=\{\begin{array}{c}\underset{N_X=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}d(N_X)\frac{1\pm \mathrm{\Gamma }_{11}}{2}\frac{1\gamma _6}{2}\frac{q_{\overline{\sigma }}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\overline{\sigma }}\eta ^{\overline{\mu }\overline{\nu }}}{q^{\stackrel{~}{\delta }}q_{\stackrel{~}{\delta }}+\left(\frac{Q}{\alpha ^{}}\right)^2+M_{N_X}^2}\frac{1\pm \gamma _6}{2}\frac{1\mathrm{\Gamma }_{11}}{2}\hfill \\ \underset{N_X=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}d(N_X)\frac{1\pm \mathrm{\Gamma }_{11}}{2}\frac{1\pm \gamma _6}{2}\frac{q_{\overline{\sigma }}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\overline{\sigma }}\eta ^{\mu \nu }}{q^{\stackrel{~}{\delta }}q_{\stackrel{~}{\delta }}+\left(\frac{Q}{\alpha ^{}}\right)^2+M_{N_X}^2}\frac{1\gamma _6}{2}\frac{1\mathrm{\Gamma }_{11}}{2}\hfill \end{array}$$
(55)
for type IIA and type IIB theories, respectively in sign, where $`\gamma _6\mathrm{\Gamma }^0\mathrm{\Gamma }^1\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Gamma }^5`$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{11}=\mathrm{\Gamma }^0\mathrm{\Gamma }^1\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Gamma }^9`$.

The lightest ($`N_X=0`$) propagation modes can be understood as the components of the supermultiplets in six-dimensional $`N=(2,0)`$ and $`N=(1,1)`$ supergravity theories for type IIA and type IIB theories, respectively. Note that there are no propagators of the fields in SO$`(4)`$ (local Lorentz) spinor representations with $`\mathrm{\Gamma }^\mu `$ ($`\mu =6,7,8,9`$) in the numerator, which is consistent with the arguments on the fermion zero-modes in the fivebrane background of low-energy supergravity theories. Namely, the existence of four fermion zero-modes in non-trivial four-dimensional space $`W_k^{(4)}`$ means that there are no propagators (or two point functions) in SO$`(4)`$ spinor representations, if we believe the path integral formalism for quantization.

In case of type IIA (IIB) theory and $`N_X=0`$, the propagator of the first line of Eq.(55) corresponds to the propagations of one complex six-dimensional spin-3/2 gravitino and one complex six-dimensional spin-1/2 dilatino in the $`N=(2,0)`$ ($`N=(1,1)`$) supergravity multiplet. Another pair of the gravitino and dilatino in the supergravity multiplet should be supplied from the R-NS sector. The propagator of the second line of Eq.(55) corresponds to the propagations of four complex spin-1/2 spinor fields in two $`N=(2,0)`$ tensor multiplets (two $`N=(1,1)`$ vector multiplets) of the supergravity theory. The R-NS sector gives the fermion components of other two $`N=(2,0)`$ tensor multiplets (two $`N=(1,1)`$ vector multiplets).

Note that the obtained propagator correctly describes the propagation at around a certain distance from the place of the fivebrane. The magnitude of the value of the dilaton field becomes large near and far away from the place of the fivebrane (see Eq.(2) with $`e^{2\mathrm{\Phi }_0}=0`$ and $`n=k+2`$), and the perturbative calculation on the string coupling (the genus expansion) does not give correct results. Therefore, the six-dimensional system mentioned in the previous paragraph is not the one confined in the fivebrane, but the system of the bulk with the distance around $`\sqrt{\alpha ^{}(k+2)}`$ away from the place of the fivebrane.

## V Conclusions

We have calculated the fermion propagators in the fivebrane background of type IIA and type IIB string theories. The world-sheet conformal field theory is the combination of the SU$`(2)_k`$ WZW model and linear-dilaton theory, which describes the non-trivial four-dimensional space, and the theory corresponding to the six-dimensional flat Minkowski space-time. The Kač-Moody level $`k`$ has been taken even and large number for the ten-dimensional space-time interpretation. The tree-level calculation is effective at the distance around $`\sqrt{\alpha ^{}(k+2)}`$ away from the place of the fivebrane, where the magnitude of the value of the dilaton field is small.

The form of the obtained propagator is simple, and the lightest propagating modes can be understood as the components of the supermultiplets in six-dimensional $`N=2`$ supergravity theories. The fact that there are no propagations of the fields in SO$`(4)`$ (local Lorentz) spinor representations is consistent with the arguments on the fermion zero-modes in low-energy supergravity theories. No signature of the fermion pair condensation has found, which is also consistent with the arguments on the fermion zero-modes in low-energy effective theories.

It might be interesting to attempt the similar calculation in the heterotic string theory. From the arguments on the fermion zero-modes in the low-energy supergravity theory, the pair condensations of gravitino, dilatino and gaugino are expected. Although it is difficult to construct the source boundary state for gravitino and dilatino without destroying Dirichlet boundary condition, it is possible to construct the appropriate boundary state for gaugino. The formation of the gaugino condensation in the low-energy supergravity theory can be understood as the instanton effect at the semi-classical level. It might be interesting to ask the question how the semi-classical effect in the low-energy effective theory is described in the string world-sheet theory.

###### Acknowledgements.

I would like to thank S. Saito and S.V. Ketov for useful comments. I would specially thank to B.-Y. Hou and R.-H. Yue for valuable discussions and kind hospitality during my stay in Xibei university.