Accelerating D-branes

TL;DR

This paper computes higher derivative terms in the one-loop effective action for D3-branes using two formalisms, revealing potential discrepancies between supergravity and Yang-Mills descriptions at two-loop order.

Contribution

It compares off-shell and on-shell supersymmetric calculations of D-brane interactions, highlighting the emergence of acceleration terms and possible two-loop disagreements.

Findings

Off-shell formalism shows acceleration terms with four derivatives.

Calculations agree only when using tree-level equations of motion.

Potential two-loop discrepancies between supergravity and Yang-Mills theories.

Abstract

Higher derivative terms are computed in the one-loop effective action governing the interactions of D3-branes, in two ways: (1) in a formalism with N=2 supersymmetry preserved off-shell, and (2) in the standard background field formalism, with only on-shell supersymmetry. It is shown that these calculations only agree using tree-level equations of motion. The off-shell supersymmetric calculation exhibits acceleration terms that appear in terms with four derivatives. These may imply disagreement at two-loop order between supergravity and Yang-Mills descriptions of D-brane dynamics.