String Theory: Example Sheet 1

Dr David Tong, January 2010

1. Consider an electron in orbit around a neutron. Assume that electromagnetic

dipole effects can be neglected and only the Newtonian gravitational force is relevant.
What is the radius of Bohr orbit of the ground state? What object is this comparable
to? Now re-evaluate your sense of the importance of quantum gravity.

2a. Consider the following action for a point particle

  
1 −1 μ ν 2
S= dτ e Ẋ Ẋ ημν − em (1)
2

The dynamical fields are e(τ ) and X μ (τ ). Write down the equations of motion. Show
that after substituting the equation of motion for e, one recovers the form of the point-
particle action that we saw in the lectures.

b. Higher-dimensional objects are called branes. More precisely, if the object has
p spatial dimensions, it is called a p-brane. (Joke copyright Paul Townsend). The
dynamics of a p-brane moving in Minkowski space is given by the Dirac action,
 
p+1
S = −T d σ − det γ (2)

Here σ α , α = 0, . . . , p are coordinates on the brane worldvolume, while γαβ is the

pull-back of the Minkowski metric onto the brane.
∂X μ ∂X ν
γαβ = ημν (3)
∂σ α ∂σ β
Show that this is equivalent to the Polyakov-type action with dynamical worldvolume
metric gαβ ,

T √  
S=− dp+1 σ −g g αβ ∂α X μ ∂β X ν ημν − (p − 1)
2

3. Show that the Polyakov action for the string is reparameterization invariant.

1
4. The Polyakov string is invariant under translational and Lorentz symmetries,

X μ → Λμν X ν + cμ

Show that, in conformal gauge, the Noether currents associated to these global sym-
metries on the worldsheet are

Pμα = T ∂ α Xμ and α
Jμν = Pμα Xν − Pνα Xμ

Write down the conserved charge associated with Lorentz transformations in terms of
the modes of the string and interpret the result.

5. By considering the appropriate Noether charge, show that pμ in the mode ex-
pansion has the interpretation of the center of mass momentum of the string. Do this
for both open and closed strings.

6. The purpose of this exercise is to get some feel for the properties of classical
solutions to the string equation of motion. Throughout this exercise, it will be useful
to work in static gauge X 0 = Rτ .

a. Suppose that at a fixed time, a snapshot of a closed string looks like a circle
lying in the X 1 − X 2 plane. Write down an instantaneous configuration describing the
string that obeys the constraint equations. By using the Noether current, compute the
energy of this configuration.

b. Write down a configuration describing a spinning, circular closed string lying in

the X 1 − X 2 plane which obeys the equation of motion. Show that this does not obey
the constraints. What is this telling you?

c. Show that the ends of an open string with only Neumann boundary conditions
travel at the speed of light.

d. A closed string may form a cusp. If we require that the worldsheet fields re-
main smooth, we must have x  (σ, τ ) = 0 at the cusp. Show that this point of the
string travels with luminal velocity, perpendicular to the direction of the cusp. Show
that such cusps are generic for a classical string moving in R1,3 , but not in higher
dimensions.

2
7. Show that the Ricci curvature for the the conformally flat 2d Euclidean metric
gαβ = e2φ δαβ is given by
R = −2e−2φ ∂ 2 φ

8. Assuming the commutation relations for xμ , pμ , αnμ and α̃nμ in the mode expansion,
compute the commutation relations for X μ and Πμ .

9. Construct the open string states at level 2 in the lightcone formalism and de-
termine their representation under SO(D − 1). Construct the states at level 3. Show
that they fit into a traceless symmetric-3-tensor and an anti-symmetric-2-tensor rep-
resentation of SO(D − 1).

10. Write down the mode expansion describing an open string stretched between
two parallel Dp-branes. Interpret the result.

11. The purpose of this exercise is to derive some formulae that are important in
the covariant quantization of the string. Later we see these same formulae appearing
in the context of conformal field theory. You might find the book by Green, Schwarz
and Witten useful.

Using the commutation relations for αnμ , show that the normal ordered Virasoro
generators satisfy
1
[Lm , Ln ] = p αm−p · αp+n + (m − p)αn+m−p · αp
2 p
By swapping dummy variables, make an argument that the Ln obey
[Lm , Ln ] = (m − n)Lm+n
Why do you think the argument leading to this result might be suspect in the quantum
theory? Convince yourself that the correct form of the commutation relations is
[Lm , Ln ] = (m − n)Lm+n + C(n)δm+n,0
for some (as yet undetermined) real-valued function C(n) such that C(−n) = −C(n).
This extra piece is called the central extension of the algebra.

By considering the Jacobi identity, show that the function C(n) can take the form,
C(n) = c3 n3 + c1 n
for some c3 and c1 .

3
 Compute the matrix elements,

0; p|[L1 , L−1 ]|0; p and 0; p|[L2 , L−2 ]|0; p

Use this to show that the correct commutation relations are given by the Virasoro
algebra,
D 3
[Lm , Ln ] = (m − n)Lm+n + (m − m)δm+n,0
12

4
String Theory: Example Sheet 2
Dr David Tong, February 2010 “Wax on. Wax off. ”

1. Verify that

∂ ∂¯ ln |z|2 = 2πδ(z, z̄) ,

firstly by using the divergence theorem, and secondly by regulating the singularity at
z = 0.

2. Show that : eikX : is a primary operator for the theory of a free scalar field.
Compute the weight.

3. A theory of a free scalar field X has OPE

α 1
∂X(z) ∂X(w) = − + ...
2 (z − w)2
Consider a putative candidate for the stress-energy tensor
1
T (z) = −
: ∂X(z)∂X(z) : −Q ∂ 2 X(z)
α
a. Use the T X OPE to determine the transformation of X under conformal transfor-
mations δz = (z).

b. Show that ∂X is not primary unless Q = 0, but is quasi-primary with weight

h = 1. Show that : eikX : is primary and compute its weight.

c. Determine the T T OPE and show that it does have the structure expected of a
stress-energy tensor. What is the central charge of the theory?

An Aside: What’s going on here? How can the same free scalar field have different
stress-energy tensors? The point is that the stress energy tensor tells us how the sys-
tem couples to a curved metric. Several such couplings could all give the same physics
when restricted to a flat background. The theory considered here is called the linear
dilaton theory. We will see where it comes from later in the course.

4. A theory of several free, non-interacting scalars X μ , μ = 1, . . . D, has the oper-

ators

ζμ : ∂X μ eik·X : and ζμν : ∂X μ ∂X

¯ ν eik·X :

1
where ζμ , kμ are constant vectors and ζμν is a constant tensor. If the stress-energy ten-
sor is given by T = (−1/α ) : ∂X μ ∂Xμ : determine the conditions for these operators
to be primary. What are their weights?

5. A free fermion Majorana fermion in two dimensions has action,


1
S= d2 z ψ ∂ψ
¯ + ψ̄∂ ψ̄
2π
The propagator is given by the OPE
1
ψ(z)ψ(w) = −ψ(w)ψ(z) =
z−w
and similar for ψ̄. (Remember, ψ and ψ̄ are Grassmann-valued fields, a fact which is
reflected in the OPE). The energy momentum tensor is
1
Tzz = − : ψ∂ψ :
2
Show that ψ is a primary operator of weight 1/2. Determine the central charge of this
theory.

6. The bc ghost system consist of two free Grassmann fields b and c. (Note: do
not confuse the field c with the central charge c. They are not the same thing!) The
OPE is given by
1
b(z)c(w) = −c(w)b(z) =
z−w
Consider the stress-energy tensor
T =: (∂b)c : −λ∂ : bc :
Show that b is primary with weight h = λ and c is primary with weight h = 1 − λ.
Show that the central charge of this system is equal to
c = −12λ2 + 12λ − 2

An Aside: This peculiar looking theory is extremely important. We will come

across it later in the course when we discuss the path integral approach to string theory.

7. Show that the Schwarzian transformation of the stress tensor reproduces the correct
infinitesimal transformation. Show, moreover, that it has the correct property under
successive conformal transformations.

8. Use the OPE for a free scalar field to determine the commutation relations of
the Fourier modes αm .

2
String Theory: Example Sheet 3
Dr David Tong, February 2010

1. The “Polyakov-style” action for a massive relativistic point particle, involving the
Minkowski space coordinate X μ (τ ) and the einbein e(τ ), is given by
  
1 −1 μ ν 2
S= dτ e Ẋ Ẋ ημν − em
2

a. Show that this action has the reparameterization invariance τ → τ̃ − η(τ ), to linear
order in η, with
d dX μ
μ
δe = (η(τ )e) , δX = η(τ )
dτ dτ
b. Consider a path starting at X μ (τ1 ) = X1μ and finishing at X μ (τ2 ) = X2μ . Show that
reparameterization invariance allows the choice of gauge
l
e(τ ) =
τ2 − τ1
where l is the invariant length of the worldline.

c. The Feynman propagator for a massive scalar particle defined by the path inte-
gral,

G(X1 − X2 ) = N De DX eiS[X,e]

with N the usual normalization constant. By transforming to the gauge e = l/(τ2 −τ1 ),
together with an appropriate redefinition of the parameter τ , show that
 ∞  l

 i 2 2
G(X1 − X2 ) = N dl DX exp dτ (Ẋ − m )
0 2 0

Why does the integral over the length of path l remain? (You may find the discussion
in Polchinski chapter 5.1 useful to answer this).

d. Compute the functional integral over X to deduce that the propagator in mo-
mentum space is given by
1
G̃(p) =
p2 + m2

1
2. The scattering amplitude for m closed string tachyons is given by,
 
m
(m) gsm−2
A (p1 , . . . , pm ) = d2 zi V̂ (z1 , p1 ) . . . V̂ (zm , pm )
Vol(SL(2; C)) i=1

where V̂ (z, p) = eip·X(z,z̄) and the correlation function is computed using the gauge
fixed free Polyakov action

1
SPoly = 
d2 z ∂X · ∂X
¯
2πα
a. By expressing the correlation function as a Gaussian integral, show that the ampli-
tude is given by
m−2   m 
(m) g s 26 
A ∼ δ ( pi ) d2 zi |zj − zl |α pj ·pl
Vol(SL(2; C)) i i=1 j<l

b. Show that this integral is invariant under the SL(2; C) transformation

azi + b
zi →
czi + d
only when the momenta are on-shell, i.e. p2i = 4/α.

c. Explain why this means that the 4-point amplitude can be reduced to the inte-
gral
 
 
A(4) ∼ gs2 δ 26 ( pi ) d2 z |z|α p2 ·p3 |1 − z|α p3 ·p4
i

d. Evaluate this integral in terms of gamma functions. Show that, when written in
Mandelstam variables, it is given by the Virasoro-Shapiro amplitude

(4) Γ(−1 − α s/4)Γ(−1 − α t/4)Γ(−1 − α u/4)

A ∼ gs2
Γ(2 + α s/4)Γ(2 + α t/4)Γ(2 + α t/4)

3. Explain why the limit s → ∞, with t fixed corresponds to small angle scatter-
ing at high energy. Show that in this limit the Virasoro-Shapiro amplitude exhibits
so-called Regge behaviour,
 Γ(−1 − α t/4) 2+α t/2
(4)
A → gs2 26
δ ( pi ) s
i
Γ(2 + α t/4)

2
4a. Write down the vertex operator for a massless closed string state with polar-
ization ζμν and momentum pμ . What are the restrictions on pμ and ζμν ?

b. Consider the scattering of a massless closed string mode with momentum p1 and two
tachyons with momentum p2 and p3 . Show that p1 · p2 = p1 · p3 = 0 and p2 · p3 = −4/α .

c. Show that the 3-point scattering amplitude for these particles is given by

  
3

gs 1 pμ2 pμ3 pν2 pν3

A(3) ∼ δ 26 ( pi ) d2 zi ζμν + +
Vol(SL(2; C)) i i=1
|z23 |4 z12 z13 z̄12 z̄13

where zij = zi − zj .

d. Explain why the SL(2; C) gauge symmetry allows us to simplify this to


A(3) ∼ gs δ (26) ( pi ) ζμν (pμ2 − pμ3 )(pν2 − pν3 )
i

5a. After using SL(2; C) to fix the positions of 3 vertex operators, the tree-level
m-point amplitude for tachyon scattering reduces to an integral over the positions of
the remaining m − 3 vertex operator insertions,
  
m  
A(4) ∼ gsm−2 δ 26 ( pi ) d2 zi |zjl |α pj ·pl
i i=4 j<l

where zjl = zj − zl . The variables describing the exchange of momentum are sij =
−(pi + pj )2 . The hard scattering limit is defined by sij → ∞. Explain why the integral
can be evaluated using a saddle-point approximation in this limit.

b. For the 4-point amplitude, use the saddle point approximation to show that
 

α
A(4) ∼ gs2 δ 26 ( pi ) exp − (s ln s + t ln t + u ln u)
i
2

3
String Theory: Example Sheet 4
Dr David Tong, March 2010

1. The low-energy effective action in string frame is given by



1 26
√ −2Φ 1 μνλ μ
S = 2 d X −G e R − Hμνλ H + 4∂μ Φ ∂ Φ (1)
2κ0 12

Show that the equations of motions for Gμν , Bμν and Φ are equivalent to the vanishing
of the beta functions

 α
βμν (G) = α Rμν + 2α ∇μ ∇ν Φ − Hμλκ Hν λκ

4
α λ
βμν (B) = − ∇ Hλμν + α ∇λ Φ Hλμν
2
α 2 α
β(Φ) = − ∇ Φ + α ∇μ Φ ∇ Φ − Hμνλ H μνλ
 μ
2 24

2. Consider the string frame action (1) in D spacetime dimensions. Show that, when
written in terms of the Einstein frame metric

G̃μν (X) = e−4Φ̃/(D−2) Gμν (X)

the low-energy effective action becomes

 

1 D 1 −8Φ̃/D−2 μνλ 4 μ
S = 2 d X −G̃ R̃ − e Hμνλ H − ∂μ Φ̃∂ Φ̃
2κ 12 D−2

where κ2 = κ20 e2Φ0 and Φ = Φ0 + Φ̃.

3a. The string frame metric produced by N infinite static strings lying in the (X 0 , X 1 ) ≡
(t, x) direction is

ds2 = f (r)−1 (−dt2 + dx2 ) + dX

 · dX


 = (X2 , . . . , X25 ) labels the space transverse to the string and

where X

gs2Nls22
f (r) = 1 +
r 22

with r 2 = X · X.
 Consider one further infinite probe string in this background, lying
parallel to the others. Write down the Nambu-Goto action describing the motion of

1
this string. Show that in static gauge t = Rτ and x = Rσ, the low-energy excitations
of the string are governed by the effective action,
   
1 d  dX
X  d  dX
X 
L ≈ T dtdx −f (r)−1 + · − · + ...
2 dt dt dx dx

Interpret this result.

3b. Now include the coupling of the probe string to background B-field, which is
given by

B01 = f (r)−1 − 1

Show that the probe string, suitably oriented and lying parallel to the initial strings,
feels no static force.

4. Consider an open string whose ends are constrained to lie on a Dp-brane with
a background field strength Fab turned on. Show that the Neumann boundary condi-
tions for the string must be replaced by

∂σ X a − 2πα F ab ∂τ Xb = 0

5a. Show that the Born-Infeld Lagrangian can be written in the form,

 1
LBI ≡ det(1 + F ) = exp tr ln(1 − F 2 )
4
where Fμν = ∂μ Aν − ∂ν Aμ is the field strength, 1 means the unit matrix, and we have
set 2πα = 1.

5b. Show that the equations of motion arising from the Born-Infeld action are equiv-
alent to the beta function condition for the open string,

μρ
1
βσ (F ) = ∂μ Fρσ = 0
1 − F2
Note: To do this, it will prove very useful if you can first show the following results:

σρ
  F
∂μ tr ln(1 − F 2 ) = −4 ∂ρ Fμσ
1 − F2
which requires use of the Bianchi identity for Fμν and

μν
μρ
σν
μρ
σν
F F F 1 1
∂μ = ∂μ Fρσ + ∂μ Fρσ
1 − F2 1 − F2 1 − F2 1 − F2 1 − F2

2
 6*. Consider open strings in D-dimensional Minkowski space with endpoints that
satisfy Dirichlet boundary conditions in the directions X p+1 , X p+2, . . . , X 25 and Neu-
mann conditions in the remaining directions.

Write down the classical mode expansion for an open string suspended between two
separated, parallel Dp-branes.

Calculate the quantum ground state energy for this string. Find the critical seper-
ation at which this energy vanishes.

Show that the 1st excited state of the string contains a “W-boson”, a massive spin
1 particle charged under the two U(1) gauge fields living on the branes. Show that
this state becomes massless as the brane coincide in spacetime. Why does this mean
a non-Abelian U(2) gauge symmetry emerges? Now consider this system when the
direction X 25 is a circle of radius R. What is the dual description of this system that
is obtained by a T-duality transformation?

7* Consider a closed string on R1,24 × S1 , where X 25 ≡ X 25 + 2πR. Show that for

general values of the radius R the massless states have level N = Ñ = 1, with winding
m = 0 and Kaluza-Klein momentum n = 0. Show that, from the perspective of an
observer in R1,24 , these states are a graviton, an anti-symmetric tensor, two scalars
and two U(1) vector fields.
√
Show that at the special radius R = α , extra massless states emerge with N = Ñ = 0,
and N = 1, Ñ = 0. What is the interpretation of these states?