Discrete Field Theories and Spatial Properties of Strings
Igor R. Klebanov, Susskind, L. · University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) · 1988
We use the ground-state wave function in the light-cone gauge to study the spatial properties of fundamental strings. We find that, as the cut-off in the parameter space is removed, the strings are smooth and have a divergent size. Guided by these properties, we consider a large-N lattice gauge theory which has an unstable phase where the size of strings diverges. We show that this phase exactly describes free fundamental strings. The lattice spacing does not have to be taken to zero for this equivalence to hold. Thus, exact rotation and translation invariance is restored in a discrete space. This suggests that the number of fundamental short-distance degrees of freedom in string theory is much smaller than in a conventional field theory. 11 refs., 4 figs.