Contents

# Contents

## Idea

What is called massive type IIA string theory is a deformation of type IIA string theory which contains the RR-field flux forms $F_0$ and/or Hodge dually $F_{10}$, which couple to D8-branes.

This is the UV-completion of massive type IIA supergravity in analogy to how plain type IIA string theory is the UV-completion of plain type IIA supergravity.

## Properties

### Black D8-branes

It is (only) massive type IIA string theory where D8-branes exist as actual black branes (BdRGPT96 96, Chamblin-Perry 97, Janssen-Meessen-Ortin 99) Similarly for D6-D8-brane bound states (Singh 02a, Singh 02b).

This is because the normal n-sphere around a D8-brane (with its 9-dimensional worldvolume) in 10-dimensional spacetime is a 0-sphere, D8-brane charge is measured by the RR-field 0-flux form $F_0$, or else by its Hodge dual 10-form $F_{10}$. These behave like a cosmological constant in the corresponding D=10 supergravity (“Romans supergravity”) and causes the mass term for the B-field.

### Lift to M-theory?

The massive version of the duality between type IIA string theory and M-theory is more subtle, since D=11 supergravity does not admit a corresponding mass deformation (BDHS 97, Deser 97, Tsimpis 05).

In AJTZ10 it was argued that a massive strong-coupling limit may just not exist.

But in Hull 98 an embedding of massive IIA into M-theory was claimed, and a corresponding BFSS matrix model compactification was claimed in Lowe-Nastae-Ramgoolam 03).

## References

### General

An early hint is in

• Joseph Polchinski, p. 8,9 of: Dirichlet-Branes and Ramond-Ramond Charges, Phys. Rev. Lett.7 5:4724-4727, 1995

Serious development in

### Black branes

#### D8-branes

As a black brane the D8-brane was identified as a solution to Romans supergravity/massive type IIA string theory in

#### D6-D8-brane bound states

With emphasis on charge quantization of the RR-field flux forms via bundle gerbes:

#### D6-D8-brane bound states with D2-D4-brane defects

On black$\;$D6-D8-brane bound states in massive type IIA string theory, with defect D2-D4-brane bound states inside them realizing AdS3-CFT2 “inside” AdS7-CFT6:

#### D4-D8-brane bound states with D2-D6-brane defects

On black$\;$D4-D8-brane bound states in massive type IIA string theory, with defect D2-D6-brane bound states inside them realizing AdS3-CFT2 “inside” AdS7-CFT6:

### M-Theory/Strong coupling limit

Discussion of impossibility of a mass-deformation of D=11 supergravity

• K. Bautier, S. Deser, Marc Henneaux, D. Seminara, No Cosmological $D=11$ Supergravity, Phys. Lett. B406:49-53, 1997 (arXiv:hep-th/9704131)

• S. Deser, Uniqueness of $D=11$ Supergravity (arXiv:hep-th/9712064)

Speculation that strong-coupling limit of massive type IIA does not exist:

Claim of a realization of massive type IIA string theory in M-theory:

Our purpose here is to argue that although the Romans supergravity theory may not be derivable from 11-dimensional supergravity, or any covariant massive deformation thereof, the massive IIA superstring, whose low energy limit is the Romans theory, can be obtained from M-theory.

The type IIB supergravity theory also cannot be obtained from 11-dimensional supergravity, but the type IIB string theory can be obtained from M-theory by compactifying on a 2-torus and taking a limit

and claim of the corresponding BFSS matrix model:

Last revised on December 23, 2019 at 07:17:50. See the history of this page for a list of all contributions to it.