Rolling the tachyon in super BSFT

TL;DR

This paper studies the dynamics of tachyon condensation on an unstable D9 brane in Type IIA string theory using BSFT, revealing consistency with Sen's description but with unique features like velocity poles.

Contribution

It demonstrates that BSFT action models tachyon rolling with constant energy density and diminishing pressure, highlighting differences from Born-Infeld effective field theories.

Findings

BSFT supports Sen's tachyon condensation picture.

The action predicts poles for certain rolling velocities.

Solutions with pressure decreasing from positive or negative are possible.

Abstract

We investigate the rolling of the tachyon on the unstable D9 brane in Type IIA string theory by studying the BSFT action. The action is known for linear profiles of the tachyon, which is the expected asymptotic behavior of the tachyon as it approaches the closed string vacuum, as recently described by Sen. We find that the action does indeed seem consistent with the general Sen description, in that it implies a constant energy density with diminishing pressure. However, the details are somewhat different from an effective field theory of Born-Infeld type. For instance, the BSFT action implies there are poles for certain rolling velocities, while a Born-Infeld action would have a cut. We also find that solutions with pressure diminishing from either the positive or negative side are possible.