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arXiv · 0710.1628

A stable vacuum of the tachyonic E8 string

Simeon Hellerman·Ian Swanson
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Abstract

We consider tachyon condensation in unstable ten-dimensional heterotic string theory with gauge group E8. In the background of a lightlike linear dilaton rolling to weak coupling, we find an exact solution in which the theory decays to a stable ground state. The final state represents a new, modular-invariant perturbative string theory, tachyon-free in nine spacetime dimensions with a spacelike dilaton gradient, E8 gauge group and no spacetime supersymmetry.

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Simeon Hellerman, Ian Swanson. 2008-04-29. A stable vacuum of the tachyonic E8 string. https://arxiv.org/abs/0710.1628

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