# 1 Unstable Type II D-Branes

## 1 Unstable Type II D-Branes

During the past two years Ashoke Sen has pioneered the study of non-BPS D-brane systems. (For reviews see .) In particular, he has focused on systems of coincident D-branes and anti-D-branes. The basic idea is that whereas a system of coincident D-branes (or anti-D-branes) would be a stable supersymmetric (BPS) configuration, a system with both branes and anti-branes is not. Each separately preserves half of the supersymmetries of the ambient background, but different halves are preserved in each case, so that when both are present, there is no unbroken supersymmetry. One manifestation of this fact is that the excitation spectrum of open strings connecting $`\mathrm{D}p`$-branes to $`\overline{\mathrm{D}p}`$-branes has the reversed GSO projection compared to ones connecting $`\mathrm{D}p`$-branes to $`\mathrm{D}p`$-branes (or $`\overline{\mathrm{D}p}`$-branes to $`\overline{\mathrm{D}p}`$-branes). This results in tachyon fields on the world volume, which signal an instability. When the tachyon fields roll to a minimum — in a Higgs-like manner — this represents annihilation of branes and anti-branes.

To be specific, consider a system of $`N`$ $`\mathrm{D}p`$-branes and $`N^{}`$ $`\overline{\mathrm{D}p}`$-branes all of which are coincident $`(p+1)`$-dimensional hyperplanes embedded in $`𝐑^{10}`$. The ground state of the $`\mathrm{D}p`$ \- $`\mathrm{D}p`$ open strings gives $`U(N)`$ gauge fields $`A`$ and the $`\overline{\mathrm{D}p}`$ \- $`\overline{\mathrm{D}p}`$ open strings give $`U(N^{})`$ gauge fields $`A^{}`$. The $`\mathrm{D}p`$ \- $`\overline{\mathrm{D}p}`$ open strings, on the other hand, give a bifundamental $`(N,N^{})`$ tachyon $`T`$. These fields can be written together as a “superconnection”

$$𝒜=\left(\begin{array}{cc}A& T\\ \overline{T}& A^{}\end{array}\right).$$
(1)   
One issue is whether or not the branes and anti-branes can completely annihilate. The criterion, basically, is whether the total D-brane charge (which is conserved) is zero or not. Cancelling the $`\mathrm{D}p`$-brane charge requires $`N=N^{}`$, of course, but that is not the whole story. It is also necessary that the gauge bundles $`E`$ and $`E^{}`$ (associated to branes and anti-branes) should be topologically equivalent, $`EE^{}`$. Otherwise, there is some lower-dimension D-brane charge, and such a D-brane would survive. To illustrate this consider the case of one $`\mathrm{D2}`$-brane and one $`\overline{\mathrm{D2}}`$-brane, which are wrapped on a $`T^2`$, and coincident in the other dimensions. The Wess-Zumino term of the $`\mathrm{D2}`$-brane world-volume action contains

$$(Ce^F)_3=_{R\times T^2}(C_3+C_1F),$$
(2)   
where the $`C`$’s are $`RR`$ potentials. From this formula we see that the magnetic flux $`_{T^2}F`$ is a source of $`C_1`$, which means that it carries $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane charge. Thus, for example, if the $`\mathrm{D2}`$-brane has flux giving one unit of $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane charge and the $`\overline{\mathrm{D2}}`$-brane has no such flux, then the annihilation leaves a $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane

$$\mathrm{D2}+\overline{\mathrm{D2}}\mathrm{D0}.$$
(3)   
The world-volume theory that describes a coincident $`\mathrm{D}p+\overline{\mathrm{D}p}`$ system can be formulated in terms of the gauge fields and tachyons, where one imagines that all other modes have been integrated out. It is hard to make this explicit in a controlled manner, since the tachyon mass is generally string scale. Thus the discussion that follows is necessarily somewhat qualitative and heuristic. It does have the advantage of being very physical and intuitive, however. Analyses with better mathematical control lead to the same conclusions. One approach is to use conformal field theory methods, as described in Sen’s lecture. Another one is to use boundary-state techniques, as described in Gaberdiel’s lecture. In any case, working with gauge fields and tachyons, the world-volume theory has a tachyon potential $`V(T)`$, which must be invariant under the $`U(N)\times U(N^{})`$ gauge symmetry. Moreover, when $`N=N^{}`$, Sen argues that it should have minima that correspond to pure vacuum. The locus of minima, all of which are gauge equivalent, is given by $`T=T_0𝒰`$, where $`T_0`$ is a fixed positive real number and $`𝒰`$ is an arbitrary constant element of $`U(N)`$. At the minimum, the tachyon condensation energy should exactly cancel the energy of the D-branes

$$V(T_0𝒰)+2NT_{Dp}=0.$$
(4)   
Here, $`T_{\mathrm{D}p}`$ is the tension of a single $`\mathrm{D}p`$-brane. Thus when $`EE^{}`$ and $`T=T_0𝒰`$, the $`\mathrm{D}p+\overline{\mathrm{D}p}`$ system is equivalent to pure vacuum. What happens to the $`U(N)`$ gauge groups is not completely understood.

Let us now take $`N=N^{}=1`$ and consider a kink configuration of the tachyon field $`T`$. $`T`$ is complex, so let us consider $`\mathrm{Im}T=0`$ and $`\mathrm{Re}T=T_0\mathrm{tanh}(x/a)`$, where $`x`$ is one of the Cartesian coordinates on the branes. This describes a solitonic $`\mathrm{D}(p1)`$-brane of thickness $`a`$ concentrated in the vicinity of $`x=0`$. (The precise functional form is not important.) Since the vacuum manifold $`|T|=T_0`$ is a circle, and $`\pi _0(S^1)`$ is trivial, this D-brane has a real tachyon in its world volume and is unstable. This is just as well, since the stable D-branes of type II theories are believed to be known, and this one is not in the list. In fact, such unstable D-branes can be constructed for all “wrong” values of $`p`$ in type II theories. Stable D-branes exist for $`p`$ = even in the IIA theory and $`p`$ = odd in the IIB theory. The unstable ones occur for the other values of $`p`$. Sen has demonstrated that these unstable D-branes are useful for analyzing certain issues. My purpose in describing them here is to set the stage for an analogous construction, which will appear later.

## 2 Non-BPS Type I D0-Branes

Let me now review one of Sen’s constructions of a non-BPS stable $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane in type I superstring theory. The construction we will consider is in terms a tachyon kink in a D-string anti-D-string configuration. Recall that the type I D-string is actually the Spin (32)/$`𝐙_2`$ heterotic string continued to strong coupling. The continuation is reliable, because the string is BPS. A system of $`N`$ coincident $`D`$ strings has world volume gauge group $`O(N)`$. This can be understood as the subgroup of $`U(N)`$ on a set of type IIB D-strings that survives orientifold projection. In particular, for a single D-string the group is $`O(1)=𝐙_2`$. Even though there are no gauge fields in this case, the group matters. In particular, a D-string wrapped on a circular spatial dimension has possible Wilson lines $`W=\pm 1`$.

The 32 left-moving fermion fields $`\lambda ^A`$ on the D-string world-sheet arise as zero modes of D1 - D9 open strings. When wrapped on a circular dimension, the Wilson line encodes their periodicity

$$\lambda ^A(x+2\pi R)=W\lambda ^A(x).$$
(5)   
Thus, for $`W=1`$, $`\lambda ^A`$ has zero modes, which satisfy a Clifford algebra, and D-string quantum states are gauge group spinors (with $`2^{15}`$ components).

Now consider a $`\mathrm{D1}+\overline{\mathrm{D1}}`$ pair wrapped on a circle. If one string has $`W=1`$ and the other one has $`W=1`$, then the overall two-particle state is a gauge group spinor. Since the gauge group is not broken, this implies that complete annihilation is not possible. The tachyonic ground state of the open string connecting the D-string and the anti-D-string is real in this case. For the case of opposite Wilson lines that we are considering, the tachyon field is antiperiodic. Thus it has the Fourier series expansion

$$T=\underset{n}{}T_{n+1/2}(t)\mathrm{exp}\left[i\left(\frac{n+1/2}{R}\right)x\right].$$
(6)   
The mass of $`T_{n+1/2}`$, considered as a particle in $`9d`$, is

$$M_{n+1/2}^2=(n+1/2)^2/R^21/2.$$
(7)   
The $`1/2`$ term is the tachyonic mass-squared value (in string units) in 10d, as usual for an RNS string. From this formula we see that for $`R<1/\sqrt{2}`$, there is no tachyonic instability and the wrapped $`\mathrm{D1}+\overline{\mathrm{D1}}`$ pair does not annihilate. For $`R>1/\sqrt{2}`$, on the other hand, $`T_{\pm 1/2}`$ (and possibly other modes) are tachyonic. This means that the strings can annihilate. What results is a stable non-BPS $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane, which is a gauge group spinor. It carries a conserved $`𝐙_2`$ charge. In this case, the $`𝐙_2`$ corresponds to the two conjugacy classes of Spin (32)/$`𝐙_2`$.

At $`R=R_c=1/\sqrt{2}`$ and small string coupling constant $`g`$

$$M_{\mathrm{D0}}22\pi R_cT_{\mathrm{D1}}=\sqrt{2}/g.$$
(8)   
Sen has argued that this is the leading small $`g`$ value of the type 1 $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane mass for all $`R`$, though there are higher-order corrections. It has the usual $`1/g`$ factor that is characteristic of D-branes. Curiously, its mass differs from that of the type IIA $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane by a factor of $`\sqrt{2}`$ (in leading order). In the S-dual heterotic theory the lightest gauge group spinor occurs at the first excited level in the perturbative spectrum. Presumably, the non-BPS $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane of type I is this state continued to strong coupling.

## 3 K-Theory Classification of D-Branes

Recall that a $`\mathrm{D}p+\overline{\mathrm{D}p}`$ system is characterized by a pair of vector bundles $`(E,E^{})`$ and a tachyon $`T`$, which is a section of $`E^{}E^{}`$. Complete annihilation should be possible if and only if $`EE^{}`$. This requires $`N=N^{}`$, in particular. Following an earlier suggestion by Moore and Minasian , Witten has argued that equivalence classes of pairs $`(E,E^{})`$ that can be related by brane annihilation and creation correspond to K-theory classes . So these are the mathematical objects that correspond to conserved D-brane charges.

For example, D-brane charges of the type IIB theory on $`𝐑^{10}`$ are given by

$$\stackrel{~}{K}(S^{9p})=\{\begin{array}{cc}𝐙\hfill & p=\mathrm{odd}\hfill \\ 0\hfill & p=\mathrm{even}\hfill \end{array}.$$
(9)   
This accounts for the RR charges of all stable type IIB D-branes. Note that the unstable D-branes (for $`p`$ = even) carry no conserved charges and do not show up in this classification.

In the case of type I theory, $`E`$ is an $`O(N+32)`$ bundle and $`E^{}`$ is an $`O(N)`$ bundle, so that the total RR 9-brane charge is 32. The relevant K-theory groups for $`𝐑^{10}`$ in this case are denoted $`\stackrel{~}{KO}(S^{9p})`$, as explained by Witten.

The results are as follows:

* $`\stackrel{~}{KO}(S^{9p})=𝐙`$ for $`p=1,5,9`$

these classify the charges for the three kinds of BPS Dp-branes of type I.
* $`\stackrel{~}{KO}(S^{9p})=𝐙_2`$ for $`p=1,0,7,8`$

$`p=1`$ corresponds to the type I D-instanton, and $`p=0`$ corresponds to the non-BPS $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane, which we have discussed. The cases $`p=7,8`$ are additional non-BPS D-branes proposed by Witten.
* $`\stackrel{~}{KO}(S^{9p})=0`$ for $`p=2,3,4,6`$

there are no conserved D-brane charges in these cases.

## 4 Issues Concerning the Type I D8-brane

The K theory classification of type I D-branes, which we have just summarized, suggests two new D-branes not discussed previously: $`\mathrm{D7}`$ and $`\mathrm{D8}`$, each of which is supposed to carry a conserved $`𝐙_2`$ charge.

As noted in the final paragraph of Ref. , there is a tachyon in the spectrum of D7 - D9 and D8 - D9 open strings. This means that the world volume of a $`\mathrm{D7}`$-brane or $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane contains 32 tachyon fields. Therefore neither of these D-branes is stable. This raises the question of what happens to the conserved $`𝐙_2`$ charge when they dissolve into the background $`\mathrm{D9}`$-branes. The comments that follow arose out of discussions with Oren Bergman and Ashoke Sen, as well as correspondence with Edward Witten. I will only discuss the $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane, though the $`\mathrm{D7}`$-brane story is likely to be similar.

Witten has argued in support of the $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane as follows: The type I D-instanton implies that there are two different “vacua”, distinguished by the sign of the instanton amplitudes. This is a $`Z_2`$ analog of the $`\theta `$ angle in QCD. One should expect that there is a domain wall separating the two vacua and this should be the $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane. The sign change of instanton amplitudes would mean that the D-instanton is the EM dual of the $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane. Investigations that support this picture were carried out by Gukov .

The K-theory analysis incorporates Bott periodicity. This suggests that the type I $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane should have features in common with the type I D0-brane, discussed in Section 2. Of course, Bott periodicity should be taken cum grano salis, since the total spacetime dimension is ten. The construction of the type I $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane that we described involved wrapping D-strings on a circle, which was a convenient regulator. However, one might argue that a localized $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane should not exist on a circle (in the direction normal to the brane), since this would require identifying the two distinct vacua. Therefore we will analyze the situation in uncompactified $`𝐑^{10}`$.

The $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane could have been presented without involving compactification. In any case, by considering the $`R\mathrm{}`$ limit of the construction in Section 2, we see that the $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane can be described as a tachyonic kink in a system consisting of an infinite straight D-string and a coincident anti-D-string. The kink configuration would be exactly the same as we described for type II theories in Section 1. However, unlike the type II examples, the tachyon field is real in this case, and the potential $`V(T)`$ is an even function because of the $`𝐙_2`$ gauge symmetries. The kink configuration describing the $`\mathrm{D0}`$-brane is topologically stable in this case because the vacuum manifold is $`S^0`$ ($`T=\pm T_0`$) and $`\pi _0(S^0)=𝐙_2`$.

Let us now try to construct the $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane out of $`\mathrm{D9}`$-branes in an analogous manner. One essential difference is that the total $`\mathrm{D9}`$-brane charge must be 32. Therefore the simplest analog to consider is 33 $`\mathrm{D9}`$-branes and one $`\overline{\mathrm{D9}}`$-brane filling the entire $`𝐑^{10}`$ spacetime. In this case the open strings connecting the $`\overline{\mathrm{D9}}`$ to the $`\mathrm{D9}`$-branes give 33 real tachyon fields $`\stackrel{}{T}`$ in the fundamental representation of $`SO(33)`$. (It doesn’t matter whether one uses $`O(N)`$ or $`SO(N)`$ in the present setting.) The potential $`V(\stackrel{}{T})`$ must have $`SO(33)`$ symmetry and therefore the vacuum manifold should be given by $`|\stackrel{}{T}|=T_0`$, which describes an $`S^{32}`$. This manifold is connected, so there is no topologically stable kink. This is the same situation we encountered for the unstable type II D-branes in Section 1. In this case there are 32 directions of instability, so one expects to find 32 tachyon fields in the $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane world volume. This agrees with the conclusion of Ref. , which identified them with modes of D8 - D9 open strings.

So what are we to make of all this? I think it is clear that the $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane is unstable, at least unless something further is done to stabilize it. Still, it may be interesting to consider setting up a $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane configuration and exploring what that implies. I won’t present the details of the reasoning here, but it appears that the vacua on the two sides of the $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane are distinguished by the chirality of gauge group spinors. Of course, once the $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane decays, eventually leaving a uniform type I vacuum, only one chirality will remain. This may sound paradoxical, but it is possible because the gauge group is broken inside the $`\mathrm{D8}`$-brane.

In conclusion, K-theory classifies D-brane charges. However, high dimension non-BPS D-branes are sometimes destabilized by tachyonic modes of open strings connecting them to background spacetime filling D-branes.

## Acknowledgments

I am grateful to Oren Bergman, Ashoke Sen, and Edward Witten for helpful discussions and suggestions.