STRINGY EVIDENCE FOR D=11 STRUCTURE IN STRONGLY COUPLED TYPE II-A SUPERSTRING

TL;DR

This paper investigates the stringy massive states in strongly coupled D=10 type-IIA superstring theory, providing evidence for an underlying D=11 structure and proposing a formula for identifying non-perturbative states that form D=11 multiplets.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic formula for identifying non-perturbative states in D=10 type-IIA superstring theory, supporting the D=11 structure hypothesis.

Findings

Non-perturbative states form D=11 supersymmetric multiplets.

Hints towards a weakly coupled D=11 dual theory.

Evidence for D=11 structure in strongly coupled superstring.

Abstract

Witten proposed that the low energy physics of strongly coupled D=10 type-IIA superstring may be described by D=11 supergravity. To explore the stringy aspects of the underlying theory we examine the stringy massive states. We propose a systematic formula for identifying non-perturbative states in D=10 type-IIA superstring theory, such that, together with the elementary excited string states, they form D=11 supersymmetric multiplets multiplets in SO(10) representations. This provides hints for the construction of a weakly coupled D=11 theory that is dual to the strongly coupled D=10 type IIA superstring.