On Condensation of Closed-string Tachyons

TL;DR

This paper explores how tachyon condensation in certain string theories corresponds to brane annihilation in F-theory duals, suggesting the vacuum of Type-IIB superstring as the endpoint and speculating on bosonic string cases.

Contribution

It proposes a duality framework linking open and closed string tachyon condensation to brane dynamics in F-theory, offering new insights into non-supersymmetric string vacua.

Findings

Tachyon condensation corresponds to brane-antibrane annihilation in F-theory.

The vacuum of Type-IIB superstring is the endpoint of tachyon condensation.

Speculations on F-theory duals of bosonic strings and their tachyon dynamics.

Abstract

An F-theory dual of a nonsupersymmetric orientifold is considered. It is argued that the condensation of both open and closed string tachyons in the orientifold corresponds to the annihilation of branes and anti-branes in the F-theory dual. The end-point of tachyon condensation is thus expected to be the vacuum of Type-IIB superstring. Some speculations are presented about the F-theory dual of the bosonic string and tachyon condensation thereof.