Open string field theory with stubs

TL;DR

This paper investigates the incorporation of stubs into open string field theory, leading to new algebraic structures and solutions that enhance understanding of string interactions and their relation to closed string theory.

Contribution

It introduces two consistent methods of adding stubs to OSFT, resulting in an A-infinity algebra with multiple vertices and shared equations of motion.

Findings

Two distinct consistent actions found, both generated by a field redefinition.

The actions share the same equations of motion.

Application to nearly marginal solutions illustrates their physical significance.

Abstract

There are various reasons why adding stubs to the vertices of open string field theory (OSFT) is interesting: Not only the stubs can tame certain singularities and make the theory more well-behaved, but also the new theory shares a lot of similarities with closed string field theory, which helps to improve our understanding of its structure and possible solutions. In this paper we explore two natural ways of implementing stubs into the framework of OSFT, resulting in an A-infinity-algebra giving rise to infinitely many vertices. We find two distinct consistent actions, both generated by a field redefinition, interestingly sharing the same equations of motion. In the last section we illustrate their relationship and physical meaning by applying our construction to nearly marginal solutions.