Singularities in K-space and Multi-brane Solutions in Cubic String Field Theory

In a previous paper [arXiv:1111.2389], we studied the multi-brane solutions in cubic string field theory by focusing on the topological nature of the "winding number" N which counts the number of branes. We found that N can be non-trivial owing to the singularity from the zero-eigenvalue of K of the KBc algebra, and that solutions carrying integer N and satisfying the EOM in the strong sense is possible only for N=0,\pm 1. In this paper, we extend the construction of multi-brane solutions to |N|\ge 2. The solutions with N=\pm 2 is made possible by the fact that the correlator is invariant under a transformation exchanging K with 1/K and hence K=\infty eigenvalue plays the same role as K=0. We further propose a method of constructing solutions with |N|\ge 3 by expressing the eigenvalue space of K as a sum of intervals where the construction for |N|\le 2 is applicable.Comment: 20 pages, no figures, v4: version published in JHE

Winding Number in String Field Theory

Motivated by the similarity between cubic string field theory (CSFT) and the Chern-Simons theory in three dimensions, we study the possibility of interpreting N=(\pi^2/3)\int(U Q_B U^{-1})^3 as a kind of winding number in CSFT taking quantized values. In particular, we focus on the expression of N as the integration of a BRST-exact quantity, N=\int Q_B A, which vanishes identically in naive treatments. For realizing non-trivial N, we need a regularization for divergences from the zero eigenvalue of the operator K in the KBc algebra. This regularization must at same time violate the BRST-exactness of the integrand of N. By adopting the regularization of shifting K by a positive infinitesimal, we obtain the desired value N[(U_tv)^{\pm 1}]=\mp 1 for U_tv corresponding to the tachyon vacuum. However, we find that N[(U_tv)^{\pm 2}] differs from \mp 2, the value expected from the additive law of N. This result may be understood from the fact that \Psi=U Q_B U^{-1} with U=(U_tv)^{\pm 2} does not satisfy the CSFT EOM in the strong sense and hence is not truly a pure-gauge in our regularization.Comment: 20 pages, no figures; v2: references added, minor change