Ghost Tachyon Condensation, Brane-like States and Extra Time Dimension

TL;DR

This paper investigates ghost tachyon condensation in NSR superstring theory, showing how it stabilizes the vacuum by canceling D-brane tension and enabling models with extra time dimensions without tachyons.

Contribution

It demonstrates the role of ghost tachyons in string dynamics and proposes a mechanism for vacuum stabilization and extra time dimensions via tachyon condensation.

Findings

Ghost tachyons condense on D-branes, canceling their tension.

Vacuum stability is achieved dynamically through tachyon potential.

Extra time-dimensional models can be constructed without tachyons or antibranes.

Abstract

NSR superstring theory contains a tower of physical vertex operators (brane-like states) which exist at non-zero pictures only, i.e. are essentially mixed with superconformal ghosts. Some of these states are massless, they are responsible for creating D-branes. Other states are tachyonic (called ghost tachyons) creating a problem for the vacuum stability of the NSR model. In this paper we explore the role played by these tachyonic states in string dynamics. We show that the ghost tachyons condense on D-branes, created by massless brane-like states. Thus the vacuum stability is achieved dynamically, as the effective ghost tachyon potential exactly cancels the D-brane tension, in full analogy with Sen's mechanism. As a result, from perturbative NSR model point of view, massless and tachyonic brane-like states appear to live in a parallel world, as the brane is screened by the tachyonic veil. We extend the analysis to the brane-antibrane pair in AdS space and show that in this case due to the effect of the ghost tachyon condensation one can construct extra time-dimensional phenomenological models without tachyons and antibranes.