MIT's Undergraduate String Theory Project
MIT's Undergraduate String Theory Project
Quick Calculations
E = F + TS !
1 π2 1 π2 kT
= − − T k
~ω0 6 β 2 3 ~ω0
!2
π 2 kT
E = ~ω0 .
6 ~ω0
For large N ,
p 1
N (N + 1) ≈ N + .
2
1
Thus,
!
p24 (N + 1) 2π
≈ exp √ .
p24 (N ) N
For the first partition, we can choose 24 elements. There are two cases for the second
partition. If b1 6= b2 , we can choose out of 24 elements for the first element, and out of
23 for the second element. Since the two elements can be in any order, we must divide
by 2. If b1 = b2 , then there are 24 such partitions. Thus,
The first case has 24 partitions. The second case also has 24 × 24 elements because
none of the 2b1 ’s is equal to any of the 1b2 ’s. So, we can pick any b1 and b2 for both
elements. For the three-element partition, there are four cases. For all bi ’s different,
there are
24 24!
= = 2024
3 3!(24 − 3)!
partitions. The factor of 2 takes care of all the ways of choosing two elements with
equal indices. The last case, b1 = b2 = b3 , has 24 partitions. Thus,
" #
24 24
p24 (3) = 24 + 24 × 24 + +2 + 24 = 3200.
3 2
2
The partitions of N = 4 are
{4b1 }, {3b1 , 1b2 }, {2b1 , 2b2 }, {2b1 , 1b2 , 1b3 }, {1b1 , 1b2 , 1b3 , 1b4 }.
Using the results obtained previously for the first three partitions and generalizing the
counting for the partition with four elements, we get
" # " # " #
24 24 24 24 24
p24 (4) = 24 + 242 + + 24 + 24 + 242 + +3 +3 + 24
2 2 4 3 2
= 25 650.
3
QC16.7 Solution of Quick Calculation 16.7
Since λ is fixed, λ0 is fixed (see QC 16.5). Then, (16.145),
R4
02
= gY2 M N
α
tells us that R is fixed (α0 is a constant). Then, the free parameter of the Yang-Mills
theory is N and the free parameter of IIB theory is g. Since g = gY2 M ,
R4
= gN.
α02
Then, g = 1/N . Thus, if we make an expansion in terms of 1/N in Yang-Mills theory,
it corresponds to an expansion in terms of g in IIB theory.
6dW = p dV
4
(b) The partition function of the system is Z = Z(β, V ). Let us consider the differential
∂ ln Z ∂ ln Z
d ln Z = dV + dβ.
∂V ∂β
Since
∂ ln Z 1 ∂ ln Z
E=− , 6dW = dV,
∂β β ∂V
we have
6dQ ≡ d
6 W + dE.
Thus,
The second law of thermodynamics states that the heat 6dQ of the system is related to
the entropy by
6dQ = T dS.
1
d(ln Z + Eβ) = dS
k
Integrating the differentials and making use of the definition of the free energy, F ≡
E − T S, gives us
F = −kT ln S.
5
(a) We start with the definition of the partition function Z from (16.27),
∞ X ∞
Y !
X Eα ~ω0 `n`
Z = exp − = exp − .
α
kT `=1 n =0
kT
`
Since n` = 0 or 1,
!
∞
1 + exp − ~ω0 `n` .
Y
Z = (1)
`=1
kT
In the high temperature limit, kT ~ω0 , so each term in the sum differs very little
from the previous one. Then, we approximate the sum by an integral
!
Z ∞
~ω0 `
F ≈ −kT d` ln 1 + exp − .
1 kT
~ω0
Using x = kT
`, we get
∞
(kT )2
Z
F ≈− dx ln(1 + e−x ).
~ω0 0
1 1 1 π2
ζ(2) = 1 + + + + . . . = .
22 32 42 6
6
Pulling out a factor of 4 from the right-hand side gives
1 1 1 1
ζ(2) = 4 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + . . . .
2 4 6 8
We now realize that subtracting twice the sum in the right-hand side from the sum
representation for ζ(2) gives
ζ(2) 1 1 1 1 1
ζ(2) − 2 = 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + ... − 2 2 + 2 + ...
4 2 3 4 2 4
1 1 1
= 1 − 2 + 2 − 2 + ....
2 3 4
This is exactly the sum that we need and its value is ζ(2)/2 = π 2 /12. Thus, the free
energy in the high temperature limit is
π 2 (kT )2
F =− .
12~ω0
(b) We have computed the free energy F . Then, we can calculate q(n) by noting that it is
equivalent to the number of states Ω that defines the entropy through the relations:
∂F
S=− = k ln Ω.
∂T
The entropy, in the high temperature limit, is
π 2 kT
S = k . (2)
6 ~ω0
The energy is given by
!
∂ ln Z ∂ π2 1 ∂ 1
E= = (βF ) = − , (3)
∂β ∂β 12 ~ω0 ∂β β
which gives
!2
2
π kT
E = ~ω0 . (4)
12 ~ω0
7
Comparing this result with
" #
E
S(E) = k ln q(N ) = k ln q
~ω0
The number of states Ω(E) equals q24 (N ⊥ ). For large energy, N ⊥ is also large, and
using (??)
√
r
N ⊥ × 24
S(E) = k2π = k2 2N ⊥ .
12
Making use of the number-energy relation (??) gives us
√
S(E) = k2π 2α0 E.
1 ∂S
= .
T ∂E
Thus,
1
kTH = √ .
2π 2α0
√
The Hagedorn temperature for a fermionic string is 1/ 2 times the Hagedorn temper-
ature for a bosonic string.
8
Using the expansion
∞
1 X
= ym,
1 − y m=0
about y = 0 gives
∞ X
Y ∞ ∞
X
nm
x = p(n) xn
n=1 m=0 n=0
= 1 + x + x2 + . . . 1 + x2 + x4 + . . . 1 + x3 + x6 + . . . . . . (1)
= 1 + x + 2x2 + 3x3 + 5x4 + . . . (2)
We now evaluate p(n) for four different values of n by matching the coefficients of the x’s.
For the case of n = 1, there is only one term in (??) that contributes to x. It comes from
multiplying the x in the first factor and all 1’s in the rest the of the factors. Thus, p(1) = 1.
For the case of n = 2, there are two terms that contribute to x2 : first, by multiplying
the x2 term in the first factor with the 1’s; second, by multiplying the x2 term in the second
factor with the 1’s of the rest of the factors. Thus, p(2) = 2.
For the case of n = 3 and n = 4, we use the power series in (??) to read the coefficients
of xn and obtain p(3) = 3 and p(4) = 5.
The generating function works in general for n because collecting the factors of xn
amounts to counting the different ways we can build a partition for n. Since exponents
add when multiplying x’s, each possible way of getting a xn term is a partition of n.
The generating function for unequal partitions q(n) is given by
∞
Y ∞
X
n
(1 + x ) = p(n) xn
n=1 n=0
= (1 + x)(1 + x2 )(1 + x3 )(1 + x4 ) . . . (1 + xk ) . . .
= 1 + x + x2 + 2x3 + 2x4 + . . .
Thus, q(1) = 1, q(2) = 1, q(3) = 2, and q(4) = 2.
In order to compute the partition function, we must sum over all bosonic and fermionic
numbers:
∞ X b
X X ~ω0 X (q)
ZT = exp − `n` ,
(1) (b) (1) (f )
kT `=0 q=1
nr ,...,nr ns ,...,ns
9
(q) (q)
where r, s = 1, 2, . . . , ∞, the nr run over all non-zero integers and ns = 0 or 1. The sums
separate, thus
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Y X ~ω0 X (1) Y X ~ω0 X (1)
ZT = exp − `n` exp − `n .
r=1 (1)
kT `=0 s=1 (1)
kT `=0 `
nr ns
10
For each coordinate, there are 8 bosonic operators α−n and 8 fermionic operators b−r .
Since we sum over 8 coordinates, the number of states is 8P (N ⊥ ; 8, 8).
Since superstrings have supersymmetry, the total number of states is twice that of the
NS sector. Thus, the number of states is 16P (N ⊥ ; 8, 8).
(b) The number of states of an open superstring with energy given by α0 E 2 = N ⊥ is
√
Ω(E) = 16P (N ⊥ ; 8, 8) = 16P ( α0 E 2 ; 8, 8).
Using the expression for ln P (N ; b, f ) derived in Problem 16.4, we get
√
ln Ω(E) ≈ 2π 2α0 E.
Since S(E) = k ln Ω(E) and
1 ∂S
= ,
T ∂E
we get
1
kTH = √ .
2π 2α0
√
Thus, the Hagedorn temperature of the open superstring is a factor of 2 larger than
the Hagerdorn temperature of the bosonic string.
11
√
Let u = sinh v, then 1 + u2 = cosh v, and du = cosh v dv. Performing the change of
variables in the integral gives us
d Z
m
2
Z(m ) = V cosh(v) sinhd−1 (v) e−βm cosh v dΩdv.
2π
We can factor this integral into a radial integral and an angular integral:
d Z ∞ Z
2 m d−1 −βm cosh v
Z(m ) = V cosh(v) sinh (v) e dv dΩ.
2π 0
We recognize the second integral as the volume of the unit (d − 1)-sphere, S d−1 . Making use
of (3.51),
2π d/2
vol(S d−1 ) = ,
Γ d2
we have
d ∞
2π d/2
Z
m
2
Z(m ) = V cosh(v) sinhd−1 (v) e−βm cosh v dv.
2π Γ d2 0
Using
ν √ Z ∞
∂ Kν (z) 2 0 ν π
= Kν (z) − Kν (z) = − cosh(t) sinh2ν (t) e−z cosh t dt,
∂z (z/2)ν z z Γ ν+ 1 0
2
We need the asymptotic expansion of the modified Bessel functions (and derivatives thereof),
r " 2
# r " 2
#
π 4ν − 1 π 4ν + 3
Kν (z) ∼ e−z 1+ + ... , Kν0 (z) ∼ e−z 1+ + ... .
2z 8z 2z 8z
To first order in the low temperature limit, βm 1, we can neglect the first term in (??).
Then, using only the first term in the asymptotic expansion for Kν0 (z) gives us
! d2
m
Z(m2 ) ∼ V e−βm ,
2πβ
12
which corresponds to the asymptotic expansion given in (16.89). We obtain the first nontriv-
ial correction to the partition function by considering the asymptotic expansion for Kz (z),
to first order, and the expansion for Kn u0 (z), to second order. We then have
! d2 " #
m d(d − 2)
Z(m2 ) ∼ V e−βm 1+ .
2πβ 8z
Thus, in the high energy regime, strings have a negative heat capacity.
We now compute the entropy S(E), in a different way, by considering continuous (rather
than discrete) energies. We now have
13
Then, the entropy is given by
!
dN
S(E) = k ln Ω(E) = k ln p24 (N ) .
dE
Using the relation number-energy relation α0 E 2 = N ⊥ , and the approximate expression for
p24 (N ) we get
S(E)
= ln p24 (N ) + 2α0 E.
k
Compare this expression for the entropy with (??). Thus, we obtain the extra term 2α0 E
when we consider continuous energies.
The number of states of an open string with energy E on a Dq-brane is
√
Ω(E) ≈ E −γ exp 4π α0 E ,
S(E) √
= ln Ω(E) = −γ ln E + 4π α0 E.
k
. Then, the temperature-energy relation is
1 1 ∂S γ √
= = − + 4π α0 .
kT k ∂E E
The energy as a function of temperature is given by
−1
1 1
E(T ) = γk − ,
kTH kT
√
where TH = (4π α0 k)−1 . Using the continuous energy formulation, the heat capacity is
!
∂E γk
CV = =− √
∂T (4π α0 kT − 1)2
V
−2
γ 1 1
= − 2 −
kT kT kTH
γ3k
= − 2 2.
E T
16.8 Long string are entropically favored
14
(a) The number of states available to a string with energy E is given by pb (α0E + 1) ≈
pb (α0E). Then, the ratio of the number of states of a string with energy E0 to the
number of states of two distinguishable strings with energy E0 /2 is
√ −γ
pb (N0 ) βN0−γ eδ N 1 16
= √ = .
pb (N0 /4)2 β 2 (N0 /4)−2γ e2δ N0 /4 β N0
The ratio of the number of states available to the string with energy E0 to the number
of states available to the distinguishable strings of energy E1 and E2 is given by
√ −γ
βN0−γ eδ N0
pb (N0 ) 1 N0
= √ √ = .
pb (N1 )pb (N2 ) βN1−γ eγ N1 βN2−γ eδ N2 β N1 N2
which is true for large N1 and N2 because the right-hand side is quadratic and the left
hand side is linear. Thus, the combination of two very energetic open strings into one
string is entropically favored.
15
(c) The number of available states increases if the change in entropy is positive. The
resultant string has N0 = 9. The two original string each have E1 = E0 /2. Since
α0E02 = 8, α0E12 = 2. So, we have N0 = 9 and N1 = 3. Then, using the results from
QC 16.3, the number of times that the number of available states is increases in this
process is
p24 (9)
≈ 14.
p24 (3)2
The change in the entropy is given by
∆S p24 (9)
= ln ≈ 2.6.
k p24 (3)2
(a) A random walk of N steps in a d-dimensional space has an average value for the
traveled distance squared of N , for
√ large N . If we consider a string of length L made
out of pieces each of length `s = α0 , then the number of pieces of the√string is L/`s .
Since the root-mean-square of the traveled distance of a random walk is N , the string
“size” is
√ p
Rstr (M ) ∼ N ∼ L/`s .
√
In order for Rstr to have units of length, we multiply by `s , Then, Rstr ∼ L`s . Using
(16.127)
L
M ∼ T0 L ∼ ,
α0
√
`s = α0 , and α0 M = N , we obtain
(b) We require that RSch > Rstr , where RSch is the Schwarzchild radius. Using our result
for Rstr from the previous part of this problem, and the definition of RSch , we get
2GM
> M 1/2 `s3/2 .
c2
Thus, M̄ ∼ G−2 `3s . Using G ∼ g 2 `2s , and mP = (g`s )−1 , we obtain
1 mP
M̄ ∼ ∼ . (2)
g 4 `s g3
16
The Schwarzchild radius for an object with mass M̄ is
g 2 `2s `s
RSch ∼ GM̄ ∼ 4
∼ 2.
g `s g
`2s 1
N ≈ M̄ 2 α0 ∼ = .
g 8 `2s g8
The planck mass is mP ≈ 2.2 × 10−8 Kg. Then, using (??) gives us
2.2 × 10−8 Kg
M̄ ∼ = 2.2 × 10−2 Kg.
(0.01)3
(c) Let us assume that the entropy of the black hole is constant while we dial down the
string coupling constant g. Making use of (16.133), we have
S0
∼ g02 `2s M02 = g∗2 `2s M∗2 , R∗ ∼ g∗2 `2s M∗ . (3)
k
We do not expect these results to hold when the black hole becomes smaller than the
string length, so let us fix R∗ = `s as the minimum radius for which (??) can be trusted.
The condition R∗ = `s tells us that
1
M∗ ∼ .
g∗2 `s
g 2 `2s M 2 ∼ `s M∗2 .
Hence,
4
M
N∼ M∗2 `2s ∼ g 4 `4s M 4 = .
mP
Using (??) again and G ∼ g 2 `2s , we obtain the following expression for Rstr :
M `s GM R
Rstr ∼ ∼ M g`2s ∼ ∼ .
mP g g
17
Thus, the length of the string is
α 0 mP
L ∼ α0 M ∼ Rstr .
`s
Recalling that mP = 2.2 × 10−8 Kg and the mass of the sun Msun = 1.99 × 1030 Kg,
the black hole at the center of our galaxy has
4 !4
2.6 × 106 Msun
M
N∼ = = 3 × 10177 .
mP mP
18