Searching for Kerr in string amplitudes

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether string theory amplitudes can reproduce the classical electromagnetic current of the Kerr black hole, exploring higher-spin states and classical string solutions, and finds that coherent states better match the classical behavior.

Contribution

The paper extends the analysis of string amplitudes to sub-leading trajectories and classical string solutions, proposing a new approach to connect string states with Kerr-like classical fields.

Findings

Infinite-spin limit of certain string states does not match Kerr current

Coherent string states better reproduce classical electromagnetic behavior

Classical string solutions with harmonics are compared to amplitude results

Abstract

We continue the approach of [1] to attempt to reproduce the classical electromagnetic current of the $\sqrt{\mathrm{Kerr}}$ solution from the infinite-spin limit of a three-point amplitude with two higher-spin string states and a massless vector. We review the infinite-spin limit of three-point amplitudes along the leading Regge trajectory, which differ from $\sqrt{\mathrm{Kerr}}$, and we provide evidence that any sub-leading trajectory parallel to the leading one give the same result. We extend the above investigation to the simplest sub-leading trajectory not parallel to the leading one, containing physical states with the first two harmonics. We compute all three-point amplitudes involving two such states and a massless vector, using both covariant and DDF formalism, and we extract the associated classical infinite-spin limit. Inspired by the leading Regge case, where this limit reproduces the classical electromagnetic current sourced by a rigid rotating string, we derive new classical string solutions containing the first two harmonics and compare the currents they source to the infinite-spin amplitude of the two-harmonic state. We do not see a matching between the two approaches, and we find that the classical behaviour is instead reproduced by the amplitude involving coherent string states. We conclude this paper by discussing common patterns between the different amplitudes we considered, and we conjecture how they can be generalised to reproduce $\sqrt{\mathrm{Kerr}}$.