Patterns in Open String Field Theory Solutions

TL;DR

This paper uncovers universal patterns in the ghost structure of classical solutions in open string field theory, supported by numerical and analytical analysis, revealing common ratios and structural features across different solutions.

Contribution

It provides an analytic expression for ghost expectation value ratios and demonstrates their universality across various open string field theory solutions.

Findings

Certain ratios of ghost expectation values are universal.

Analytic expression for these ratios is derived.

Close correspondence between matter components in different solutions.

Abstract

In open string field theory the kinetic operator mixes matter and ghost sectors, and thus the ghost structure of classical solutions is not universal. Nevertheless, we have found from numerical analysis that certain ratios of expectation values for states involving pure ghost excitations appear to be universal. We give an analytic expression for these ratios and find good evidence that they are common to all known solutions of open string field theory, including the tachyon vacuum solution, lump solutions and string fields representing marginal deformations. We also draw attention to a close correspondence between the expectation values for the pure matter components in the tachyon vacuum solution and those in the solution of a simpler equation for a ghost number zero string field. Finally we observe that the action of L_0 on the tachyon condensate gives a state that is approximately factorized into a matter and a ghost part.