A Supermembrane Description of String-String Duality

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a supermembrane framework that unifies string-string duality in six dimensions by relating open and closed membrane actions on specific compact spaces, revealing deep connections in M-theory.

Contribution

It introduces a supermembrane description that explains string-string duality through equivalence of membrane actions on different compactifications.

Findings

Open membrane on T^3×S^1/Z^2 is equivalent to closed membrane on K3.

Membrane actions generate KK modes corresponding to different limits of type IIA string theory.

Provides a geometric understanding of string dualities in M-theory.

Abstract

We show that the open membrane action on $T^3\times S^1/Z^2$ is equivalent to the closed membrane action on K3. The main difference between the two actions is that one generates the KK modes in the worldvolume action which is the strong coupling limit of \IIA\ while the other action generates the KK modes in a worldsheet action. Thus explaining membrane-string duality in D=7, which naturally leads to string-string duality in D=6.