A Comment on Zero-brane Quantum Mechanics

TL;DR

This paper investigates low-energy scattering of zero-branes using an effective quantum mechanical model, providing insights into short-distance dynamics and the role of the eleven-dimensional Planck length in string theory.

Contribution

It offers a detailed analysis of zero-brane scattering at low energies, highlighting the significance of the eleven-dimensional Planck length in weakly coupled type IIA string dynamics.

Findings

Scattering probes distances shorter than the string scale.

Effective U(2) gauge theory describes zero-brane dynamics.

Evidence for the importance of the Planck length in string interactions.

Abstract

We consider low energy, non-relativistic scattering of two Dirichlet zero-branes as an exercise in quantum mechanics. For weak string coupling and sufficiently small velocity, the dynamics is governed by an effective U(2) gauge theory in 0+1 dimensions. At low energies, D-brane scattering can reliably probe distances much shorter than the string scale. The only length scale in the quantum mechanics problem is the eleven dimensional Planck length. This provides evidence for the role of scales shorter than the string length in the weakly coupled dynamics of type IIA strings.