NS fivebranes in type 0 string theory

TL;DR

This paper derives the massless spectrum of type 0 NS5-branes, confirming their non-chiral bosonic nature and discussing implications for type 0 string dualities and little string theories.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed derivation of the massless spectrum of type 0 NS5-branes and explores their non-chiral bosonic nature and duality puzzles.

Findings

Massless spectrum is non-chiral and bosonic in type 0A and 0B.

One-loop bulk computation confirms non-chirality.

Identifies puzzles in type 0B S-duality and proposes an interpretation via type 0 little strings.

Abstract

The massless degrees of freedom of type 0 NS5-branes are derived. A non-chiral, purely bosonic spectrum is found in both type 0A and 0B. This non-chirality is confirmed by a one-loop computation in the bulk. Some puzzles concerning type 0B S-duality are pointed out in this context. An interpretation of the spectra in terms of ``type 0 little strings'' is proposed.