Non-geometric fluxes, asymmetric strings and nonassociative geometry. (English) Zbl 1229.81220
Summary: We study closed bosonic strings propagating both in a flat background with constant \(H\)-flux and in its T-dual configurations. We define a conformal field theory capturing linear effects in the flux and compute scattering amplitudes of tachyons, where the Rogers dilogarithm plays a prominent role. For the scattering of four tachyons, a fluxed version of the Virasoro-Shapiro amplitude is derived and its pole structure is analysed. In the case of an \(R\)-flux background obtained after three T-dualities, we find indications for a nonassociative target-space structure which can be described in terms of a deformed tri-product. Remarkably, this product is compatible with crossing symmetry of conformal correlation functions. We finally argue that the \(R\)-flux background flows to an asymmetric CFT.
MSC:
81T30 | String and superstring theories; other extended objects (e.g., branes) in quantum field theory |
81T40 | Two-dimensional field theories, conformal field theories, etc. in quantum mechanics |
81U05 | \(2\)-body potential quantum scattering theory |
81V17 | Gravitational interaction in quantum theory |
16W10 | Rings with involution; Lie, Jordan and other nonassociative structures |