Derivative corrections to the Born-Infeld action through beta-function calculations in N=2 boundary superspace

We calculate the beta-functions for an open string sigma-model in the presence of a U(1) background. Passing to N=2 boundary superspace, in which the background is fully characterized by a scalar potential, significantly facilitates the calculation. Performing the calculation through three loops yields the equations of motion up to five derivatives on the fieldstrengths, which upon integration gives the bosonic sector of the effective action for a single D-brane in trivial bulk background fields through four derivatives and to all orders in alpha'. Finally, the present calculation shows that demanding ultra-violet finiteness of the non-linear sigma-model can be reformulated as the requirement that the background is a deformed stable holomorphic U(1) bundle.Comment: 25 pages, numerous figure

The LHC String Hunter's Companion (II): Five-Particle Amplitudes and Universal Properties

We extend the study of scattering amplitudes presented in ``The LHC String Hunter's Companion'' to the case of five-point processes that may reveal the signals of low mass strings at the LHC and are potentially useful for detailed investigations of fundamental Regge excitations. In particular, we compute the full-fledged string disk amplitudes describing all 2->3 parton scattering subprocesses leading to the production of three hadronic jets. We cast our results in a form suitable for the implementation of stringy partonic cross sections in the LHC data analysis. We discuss the universal, model-independent features of multi-parton processes and point out the existence of even stronger universality relating N-gluon amplitudes to the amplitudes involving N-2 gluons and one quark-antiquark pair. We construct a particularly simple basis of two functions describing all universal five-point amplitudes. We also discuss model-dependent amplitudes involving four fermions and one gauge boson that may be relevant for studying jets associated to Drell-Yan pairs and other processes depending on the spectrum of Kaluza-Klein particles, thus on the geometry of compact dimensions.Comment: 71 pages, LaTeX v2: very few typos removed, final version to appear in NP