On One-Loop Approximation to Tachyon Potentials

TL;DR

This paper calculates one-loop corrections to tachyon potentials in bosonic and supersymmetric string theories, providing insights into tachyon condensation and identifying instabilities caused by closed string tachyons.

Contribution

It introduces a worldsheet method to compute one-loop tachyon potentials and explores the implications for tachyon condensation and closed string instabilities.

Findings

Identifies closed string tachyon as a source of instability in bosonic strings.

Provides one-loop corrected tachyon potentials for both bosonic and supersymmetric cases.

Offers insights into the process of tachyon condensation from a worldsheet perspective.

Abstract

We compute the one-loop corrections to the tachyon potentials in both, bosonic and supersymmetric, cases by worldsheet methods. In the process, we also get some insight on tachyon condensation from the viewpoint of closed string modes and show that there is an instability due to the closed string tachyon in the bosonic case.