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arXiv · hep-th/0112137

The Past, puzzles, and promise of 6-branes

Donald Marolf
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Abstract

The fact that both the D6-brane and the orientifold 6-plane have smooth, horizon-free descriptions in M-theory makes them especially useful in understanding certain aspects of brane physics. We briefly review how this connection has been used to understand a number of effects, several of which are associated with the Hanany-Witten transition. One particular outcome is a "confinement mod 2" effect for zero-branes in the background of a single D8-brane. We also discuss an interesting puzzle associated with flux-expulsion from D6-branes in this context. Finally, we discuss the promise of using a similar M-theoretic description of the orientifold 6-plane to understand the consistency of stringy negative energy objects with the 2nd law of black hole thermodynamics.

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Donald Marolf. 2001-12-16. The Past, puzzles, and promise of 6-branes. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1454370

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