S3 - M-theory and Dualities |
Speaker_ |
Herdeiro, Carlos |
Co-autors |
Miguel S. Costa, J. Penedones, N. Sousa |
Talk _ |
Hagedorn transition and chronology protection in string theory |
Abstract _ |
We conjecture chronology is protected in string theory due to the condensation of light winding strings near closed null curves. This condensation triggers a Hagedorn phase transition, whose end-point target space geometry should be chronological. Contrary to conventional arguments, chronology is protected by an infrared effect. We support this conjecture by studying strings in the O-plane orbifold, where we show that some winding string states are unstable and condense in the non-causal region of spacetime. The one-loop string partition function has infrared divergences associated to the condensation of these states. |