Open Dielectric Branes

TL;DR

This paper derives effective actions for D-brane systems in string theory, constructs solutions of blown-up branes stabilized by background fields, and explores an open-brane analogue of the dielectric effect using supersymmetry and dualities.

Contribution

It introduces a method to derive D-brane effective actions using supersymmetry and dualities, and constructs novel stabilized open-brane configurations.

Findings

Constructed solutions of Dp-branes blown up into open D(p+2)-branes

Demonstrated stabilization of configurations by background fields

Linked operators in matrix models to D-brane effective actions

Abstract

We derive leading terms in the effective actions describing the coupling of bulk supergravity fields to systems of arbitrary numbers of Dp-branes and D(p+4)-branes in type IIA/IIB string theory. We use these actions to investigate the physics of Dp-D(p+4) systems in the presence of weak background fields. In particular, we construct various solutions describing collections of Dp-branes blown up into open D(p+2)-branes ending on D(p+4)-branes. The configurations are stabilized by the presence of background fields and represent an open-brane analogue of the Myers dielectric effect. To deduce the D-brane actions, we use supersymmetry to derive operators corresponding to moments of various conserved currents in the Berkooz-Douglas matrix model of M-theory in the presence of longitudinal M5-branes and then use dualities to relate these operators to the worldvolume operators appearing in the Dp-D(p+4)-brane effective actions.