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arXiv · hep-th/9907099

Remarks on Covariant Matrix Strings

Laurent Baulieu·Celine Laroche·Nikita Nekrasov
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Abstract

We address the issue of the worldsheet and spacetime covariant formulation for matrix strings. The problem is solved in the limit of vanishing string coupling. To go beyond the g_s = 0 limit, we propose a topological quantum field theory as a twisted candidate. Our model involves the generalized octonionic or SU(4) instanton equations defined in eight dimensions for a supersymmetric U(N) Yang--Mills field living on a special holonomy manifold. The question of untwisting this matrix model into an anomaly free theory enlightens the need for an "extended" 2d-gravity sector, that we suggest could be (partially twisted) W-gravity.

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Laurent Baulieu, Celine Laroche, Nikita Nekrasov. 1999-09-10. Remarks on Covariant Matrix Strings. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0370-2693(99)01045-x

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