Field Theoretic Branes and Tachyons of the QCD String

TL;DR

This paper explores a field-theoretic model where gauge fields are localized on branes, revealing a tachyonic instability when multiple branes approach each other, akin to string theory D-branes but with distinct symmetry reduction.

Contribution

It demonstrates the behavior of field-theoretic branes under proximity, highlighting a reduction in gauge symmetry due to tachyonic flux string instabilities, expanding the analogy with D-branes.

Findings

Gauge symmetry reduces as branes approach.

Tachyonic instability appears in flux strings between branes.

Distinct behavior compared to D-branes in string theory.

Abstract

Dvali and Shifman have proposed a field-theoretic mechanism for localizing gauge fields to "branes" in higher dimensional spaces using confinement in a bulk gauge theory. The resulting objects have a number of qualitative features in common with string theory D-branes; they support a gauge field and flux strings can end on them. In this letter, we explore this analogy further, by considering what happens when N of these "branes" approach each other. Unlike in the case of D-branes, we find a reduction of the gauge symmetry as the "branes" overlap. This can be attributed to a tachyonic instability of the flux string stretching between the branes.