S-Duality and Brane Descent Relations

TL;DR

This paper explores the realization of type IIB NS-NS p-branes as topological solitons within brane-antibrane systems, utilizing S-duality to relate NS9-branes to D9-branes and examining implications for BPS and non-BPS states in heterotic theory.

Contribution

It introduces a topological soliton framework for NS-NS branes in brane-antibrane systems and analyzes their S-dual relations and implications for heterotic string states.

Findings

Identification of vortex solutions in NS9-anti-NS9 configurations

S-duality relation between NS9-branes and D9-branes

Implications for BPS and non-BPS states in heterotic theory

Abstract

We present a description of the type IIB NS-NS p-branes in terms of topological solitons in systems of spacetime-filling brane-antibrane pairs. S-duality implies that these spacetime-filling branes are NS9-branes, S-dual to the D9-branes of the type IIB theory. The possible vortex-like solutions in an NS9,anti-NS9 configuration are identified by looking at its worldvolume effective action. Finally we discuss the implications of these constructions in the description of BPS and non-BPS states in the strongly coupled Heterotic SO(32) theory.