Part III String Theory (Lent 2012): Example Sheet 1 Solutions

Chris Blair (cdab3@cam.ac.uk)

Updated: March 13, 2012.

Please send me comments and corrections.

1
We start with the Newtonian expression for an electron of mass me in a circular orbit of radius r around a neutron of
mass mn : r
Gme mn me v 2 Gmn
= v= , (1.1)
r2 r r
so that the angular momentum is
p
me vr = me Gmn r . (1.2)

To find the Bohr radius we set this equal to ~, which gives

~2
r= . (1.3)
Gmn m2e

The most convenient possible way of evaluating this is probably Wolfram Alpha (Google having let me down). Visiting
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=hbar^2/(G+*+neutron+mass+*+electron+mass^2) reveals that

r 1.199 1026 km , (1.4)

which is 12.67 trillion light years, or about 140 times the diameter of the observable universe.
I kind of feel this question is a bit gimmicky so Im not sure to what extent you should re-evaluate your sense of the
importance of quantum gravity.
2
a. The given point particle action is Z  
1 1 a b
S= d X X ab em2 . (2.1)
2 e
Varying X a we get the equation of motion
d 1 a
X = 0 (2.2)
d e
while varying e we get
1 a b 1
q
2
X X ab m2 = 0 e = ab X a X b . (2.3)
e m
Here we assume e > 0. Substituting this into (2.1) we get
Z q
S = m d ab X a X b . (2.4)

b. The Polyakov-type action for a p-brane is

Z
T
dp+1 X a X b ab (p 1) .


S= (2.5)
2

In what follows well denote X a X b ab by just X X. We now vary using = 12 = 21

1
to find the equation of motion

1
( X X (p 1)) + X X = 0 . (2.6)
2

To work with this we contract with , using = p + 1. This gives

 
1 1
X X (p + 1) + 1 + (p + 1)(p 1) = 0 X X = p + 1 (2.7)
2 2
| {z }
= 21 (p1)

Substituting this fact into the equation of motion tells us that

= X X (2.8)

and substituting into the action we get

Z
S = T dp+1 . (2.9)

With given by (2.8) this is exactly the Dirac action we were asked to get.
3
The Polyakov action is

Z
1
S= d2 X a X b ab . (3.1)
40
We want to show this is variant under reparametrisations of the worldsheet coordinates, i.e. if we let

= () (3.2)

then the action is the same whether written with or . There really isnt much to this, youve almost certainly encountered
this sort of action in a general relativity course. Still lets go through the steps here.
To get the transformation rule for the metric right without having to remember anything, consider the invariant

d d = d d (3.3)

which implies that

= . (3.4)

The inverse metric will transform oppositely:

= , (3.5)

and the determinant as !!2

det = det det , (3.6)

The measure d2 picks up the usual Jacobian factor:

 

2
d = det d2 . (3.7)

2
As a result we then have !
p
 

d2 = d2 .
2
p
d = det det (3.8)

Finally as

= = (3.9)

we have

a b
X a X b ab = X X ab = X a X b ab = X a X b ab (3.10)

4
In conformal gauge ( = e ) the Polyakov action is just
Z
1
S= d2 X a X b ab (4.1)
40

with = diag(1, 1) and worldsheet coordinates = (, ).

To find the Noether currents associated to the global transformation one can either remember/quickly derive Noethers
L
theorem, which tells us here that for X a X a + X a , with L = 0, the conserved current is (roughly) a
( X a ) X .
Alternatively we can use the following neat method, which appears in most string theory textbooks and you will most
likely see used later in the course: consider a generic field theory with field (x) which is invariant (S = 0) under a global
transformation (x) (x) + (x). Here is an infinitesimal and constant parameter.
If we let depend on the coordinate x then the action will not in general be invariant under the transformation
(x) (x) + (x)(x). In a theory where the Lagrangian contains only first derivatives of the field the change in
action must be of the form Z
S dd x J . (4.2)

This makes sense when you think about it; the variation S must reduce to zero for constant, hence should contain a
term proportional to the derivative of . The quantity J is needed to give a scalar to integrate, and will be a function
of and its derivative.
The rather smart trick is to now say that when the equations of motion are satisfied the action is stationary and so
invariant under arbitrary infinitesimal variations of the field . In particular the S of (4.2) must be zero for any :
integrating by parts implies that J = 0, so J is a conserved current, associated to the global symmetry we started
with. This idea is known as the Noether method.
We apply this now to infinitesimal translations of the string coordinates X a :

X a X a + a . (4.3)

Letting a depend on the string worldsheet coordinates we have

Z Z
1 2 a b
S = d X ab Pa a , (4.4)
20

giving us
Pa = T Xa (4.5)

as the associated conserved current (recall that T = 1/(20 )).

Next consider an infinitesimal Lorentz transformation,

X a X a + ab X b , (4.6)

3
where ab = ab . Letting ab depend on the worldsheet coordinates we have
Z Z Z
1 2 a bc 1 2 a b 1
S = d X ( )Xc ab = d X X ab d2 Jab ab (4.7)
20 20 2

where the conserved current, antisymmetric in ab, is

1
Jab = X a X b X b X a = Pa X b Pb X a .


0
(4.8)
2

This is the current given on the problem sheet; however it actually differs by an overall sign from that used in problem 8
and in Green, Schwarz and Witten. For the remainder of this question we will therefore switch instead to

1
Jab = X a X b X b X a = X a Pb X b Pa .


0
(4.9)
2
0
We now want to investigate the conserved charge associated to this current. This will be given by integrating Jab over
the string at constant , i.e. Z
ab
J d J0ab . (4.10)

Well do this for a closed string, so runs from 0 to 2 and the mode expansion is
r
0 a 0 X 1 in a +in
a
xa0 ena ein .


X (, ) = +p +i e n e + (4.11)
2 n
n6=0

r
0 a 0 X in a in
P0a a
ena ein .


= T X = T p + T e n e + (4.12)
2
n6=0

In order to carry out the integration over we need the following identity:
Z 2
d ein = 2n,0 . (4.13)
0

This means that (setting = 0)

2 2
0 X 1 a +in
Z Z
a
P0b d T xa0 0 pb a in b im

b +im

dX = + iT e +
en e m e + em e
0 0 2 n n
n,m6=0
Z 2
1 X 1  a b +i(n+m) b i(nm) b i(n+m)

= xa0 pb + i d n m e + na
emb +i(nm)
e ena m
+ e ena
+ em e
4 0 n
n,m6=0
1X1 a b
= xa0 pb + i n n + na
enb +
ena nb +
ena b


en .
2 n
n6=0
(4.14)

The middle two terms in the sum are symmetric in a b and so will not contribute to the total conserved charge. Note that

1X1 a b 1X1 a b 1X1 a b

n n = n n +
2 n 2 n>0 n 2 n<0 n n n
n6=0
(4.15)
1X1 b a 1X1 a b
= .
2 n>0 n n n 2 n>0 n n n

4
From this it follows that
Z 2
X
X
J ab = dX a P0b (a b) = xa0 pb xb0 pa i a
nb n
b
na i a
enb b
ena .



n
en en (4.16)
0 n=1 n=1

(Note that in the quantum theory interchanging the order of na and n

b
as we did above would lead to a normal ordering
contribution proportional to ab which would cancel out due to the subtract of the (a b) term, thus the expression above
is well-defined in the quantum theory and we will not have to worry about normal ordering when we come to question 8.)
5
We have the commutation relations
[xa , pb ] = i ab , [na , m
b
] = n ab n+m,0 , (5.1)

and the mode expansions

X1
X a () = xa + i 20 cos nna , (5.2)
n
n6=0

1 X
a () = 20 pa + 20 cos nna , (5.3)
20
n6=0

where weve set = 0. We have

X 1
[X a (), X b ( 0 )] = 20 cos n cos m 0 [na , m
b
]
nm
n,m6=0
X1
= 20 cos n cos n 0 ab (5.4)
n
n6=0

= 0,

with the final step being a consequence of the sum over negative integers cancelling with the sum over positive integers
(cos is of course even). The same thing happens for the commutator of the momenta:

20 X
[a (), b ( 0 )] = 2 02
cos n cos m 0 [na , m
b
]
4
n,m6=0
20 X (5.5)
= n cos n cos n 0 ab
4 2 02
n6=0

= 0.

The final commutator we need to check is

1 a b i X 1
[X a (), b ( 0 )] = [x , p ] + cos n cos m 0 [na , m
b
]
n
n,m6=0
!
ab i (5.6)
X
0
= 1+ cos n cos n
n

= i ab ( 0 ) .

The last step will follow if we can convince ourselves that

!
1
0
X
0
( ) = 1+ cos n cos n . (5.7)
n

5
Note that

0 n 6= m, n 6= m
Z

d cos n cos m =
2 n = m 6= 0 or n = m 6= 0 . (5.8)
0


n=m=0

This is checked using cos n cos m = (cos(n + m) + cos(n m))/2. As a result we can write
X
f () = fn cos n (5.9)
n

where Z
1
fn = df () cos n , (5.10)
0

with fn = fn so that this is indeed consistent. Taking f () = ( 0 ) we do indeed get the expansion (5.7), completing
the question.
6
We have the trajectory
X 0 = B , X 1 = B cos cos , X 2 = B sin cos , X i = 0 i > 2 . (6.1)

This will describe an open string with Neumann boundary conditions if

X a X 00a = 0 , X 0a ( = 0) = 0 = X 0a ( = 0) . (6.2)

This is easy to show; for the wave equation you can either explicitly differentiate the given trajectory or else note that
= 21 ( + ) + 21 ( ), cos cos = 12 (cos( + ) + cos( )), sin cos = 12 (sin( + ) + sin( )) so the trajectory
is the sum of a function of + and a function of , which we know is the general form of a solution to the wave
equation. To check Neumann boundary conditions note we have

X 0a = (0, B cos sin , B sin sin , 0, . . . , 0) , (6.3)

which indeed vanishes at the endpoints = 0 and = .

We should also check the constraints are satisfied. Recall these are X X 0 = 0 and X 2 + X 02 = 0 and amount to the
vanishing of the energy-momentum tensor of the string. Now,

X a = (B, B sin cos , B cos cos , 0 . . . , 0) (6.4)

hence
X X 0 = B 2 (cos sin sin cos sin sin cos cos ) = 0 (6.5)

and
X 2 + X 02 = B 2 (1 + sin2 cos2 + cos2 cos2 + cos2 sin2 + sin2 sin2 ) = 0 , (6.6)

using the identity cos2 x + sin2 x = 1.

Next well show the ends of the string move at the speed of light. This is actually a general result that holds for
Neumann boundary conditions. To see this we use the constraint

X 2 + X 02 = 0 (6.7)

Evaluating this constraint at = 0 or we find

X 2 ( = 0, ) = 0 . (6.8)

6
This tells us that four-velocity of the endpoints of the string vanishes, which is equivalent to the endpoints travelling at
~ we have
the speed of light. (Explicitly for X a = (X 0 , X)

~ ;
X 2 = 0 |X 0 | = |X| (6.9)

now, there is always the freedom to choose a static gauge X 0 = R [using the same residual gauge freedom which was

used in the lectures to fix the light-cone gauge for quantisation], then = R X 0 so

 
 ~ 
 X 
0  = 1. (6.10)
 X 


As X 0 is the spacetime time coordinate, and the speed of light is 1, we that indeed the endpoints of the string move with
the speed of light.)
Now we want to investigate the relationship between energy and angular-momentum for the trajectory of equation (6.1).
We identify the energy with the zeroth spacetime component of the momentum conserved charge:
Z Z
1 B
E dP00 = d X 0 = . (6.11)
0 20 0 20

Similarly the angular momentum of the string is

Z Z
1
J dJ012 = d(X 1 X 2 X 2 X 2 )
0 20 0
Z
B2
= d(cos2 cos2 + sin2 cos2 )
20 0
Z
B2
= d cos2 (6.12)
20 0
Z
B2 1
= 0
d (1 + cos 2)
2 0 2
2
 2
B 0 B
= = = 0 E 2 .
40 20

proving the relationship we were asked to show.

7
This is quite similar to the last question. We have

X a = (3A, A cos 3 cos 3, A sin a cos b, 0, . . . , 0) , (7.1)

so
X a = (3A, 3A sin 3 cos 3, Aa cos a cos b, 0, . . . , 0) , (7.2)

X 0a = (0, 3A cos 3 sin 3, Ab sin a sin b, 0, . . . , 0) , (7.3)

giving
X X 0 = 9A2 sin 3 cos 3 sin 3 cos 3 abA2 sin a cos a sin b cos b (7.4)

and
X 2 + X 02 = A2 9 + 9 sin2 3 cos2 3 + 9 cos2 3 sin2 3 + a2 cos2 a cos2 b + b2 sin2 a sin2 b .


(7.5)

For both of these to be zero we should take a = 3 and b = 3 (any of the four possible combinations works).

7
 We now compute the energy and angular momentum as before:
Z
1 3A
E= d X 0 = , (7.6)
20 0 20
Z Z
1
J dJ012 = d(X 1 X 2 X2 X 2 )
0 20 0
Z
3A2
= d(cos2 3 cos2 3 + sin2 3 cos2 3)
20 0
Z
3A2
= d cos2 3 (7.7)
20 0
Z
3A2 1
= 0
d (1 + cos 6)
2 0 2
2
 2
3A 1 3A 1
= 0 = 0 = 0 E 2 .
4 3 20 3
So this time we have
1 0 2
|J| = E . (7.8)
3
8
The Poincare algebra is

[P a , P b ] = 0 ,
[P a , J bc ] = i ab P c + i ac P b , (8.1)
[J ab , J cd ] = i bc J ad + i ac J bd + i bd J ac i ad J bc .

We have
P a = pa (8.2)

and

X 1 a b
J ab = xa0 pb xb0 pa i b
na ,


n n n (8.3)
n=1
n

with commutation relations

[xa0 , pb ] = i ab , (8.4)

[na , m
b
] = nm+n,0 ab . (8.5)

In checking that P a and J ab satisfy the Poincare algebra we will need to use the fact that

[XY, ZW ] = XY ZW ZW XY = (XY Z ZXY )W + ZXY W ZW XY = [XY, Z]W + Z[XY, W ] . (8.6)

We start with
[P a , J bc ] = [pa , xb0 pc xc0 pb ] = [pa , xb0 ]pc [pa , xc0 ]pb = i ab pc + i ac pb , (8.7)

so this verifies the first non-trivial Poincare algebra relation. Now we turn to the computation of [J ab , J cd ]. As xa0 and pa
commute with all the oscillators we can break this up into two parts. First, lets consider

[xa0 pb xb0 pa , xc0 pd xd0 pc ] = [xa0 pb , xc0 pd ] + (a b, c d) (a b) (c d) . (8.8)

8
By keeping track of the index swaps we reduce the amount of work we have to do by a factor of approximately four. Now,
we have

[xa0 pb , xc0 pd ] = [xa0 pb , xc0 ]pd + xc0 [xa0 pb , pd ]

= xa0 [pb , xc0 ]pd + xc0 [xa0 , pd ]pb (8.9)
bc a d ad c b
= i x p + i x p .

Writing out the full contribution:

[xa0 pb xb0 pa , xc0 pd xd0 pc ] = i bc xa pd + i ad xc pb

i ad xb pc + i bc xd pa
(8.10)
i bd xa pc + i ac xd pb
i ac xb pd + i bd xc pa

or more relevantly

[xa0 pb xb0 pa , xc0 pd xd0 pc ] = i bc (xa pd xd pa ) + i ac (xb pd xd pb ) + i bd (xa pc xc pa ) i ad (xb pc xc pb ) . (8.11)

Next we want to compute

XX 1
a
nb , m
c d


[n m ] + (a b, c d) (a b) (c d) . (8.12)
n m
nm

where the minus sign comes from the factors of (i) in the expression for J ab . This is straightforward:

a
[n nb , m
c d
m a
] = [n nb , m
c d
]m c
+ m a
[n nb , m
d
]
a
= n [nb , m
c d
]m c
+ m a
[n d
, m ]nb (8.13)
= nnm,0 bc n
a d
m nnm,0 ad m
c
nb .

We have used the fact that n and m are positive in going from the first to second lines here, to allow us to take an extra
oscillator out of each commutator. We then use the Kronecker delta to perform the sum over m leaving us with

XX 1
a b c d
X 1  bc a d
n n ad n
c
nb


[n n , m m ] + (a b, c d) (a b) (c d) =
n m
nm n=1
n

+ ad n
b
nc bc n
d
na (8.14)
ac n
b
nd + bd n
c
na

bd n
a
nc + cd n
d
nb

and as this can be written as

X 1
i bc i n
a
nd n
d
na + i ac i n
b
nd n
d
nb + i bd i n
a
nc n
c
na i ad i n
b
nc n
c
nb










n=1
n
(8.15)
we find, combining with our previous result for the xa0 pb terms, that we do indeed obtain the desired commutator

[J ab , J cd ] = i bc J ad + i ac J bd + i bd J ac i ad J bc . (8.16)

9
9
The Virasoro generators
1X
Ln = : p np : (9.1)
2 p

are the sum of a lot of Lorentz scalars p np so it would be somewhat surprising if they turned out not to commute
with the generators of the Lorentz algebra. In fact to do this question well just show that p q commutes with

X 1 a b
J ab = xa0 pb xb0 pa i b
na ,


n n n (9.2)
n=1
n

for all possible values of p and q. (As the closed string basically consists of two copies of an open string this will cover
that case too.)
Consider first

X 1 a b X 1 a
nb , p ] q + p [n
a
nb , q ]


[n n , p q ] = [n
n=1
n n=1
n

X 1 a
n [nb , p ] q + [n
a
, p ]nb q + p n
a
[nb , q ] + p [n
a
, q ]nb


= (9.3)
n=1
n

X
a
qb n+p,0 nb qa + n+q,0 pb n
a
n+q,0 pa nb .


= n+p,0 n
n=1

To proceed we have to consider a number of different cases:

Suppose p > 0 and q > 0. The we only get contributions from two of the Kronecker deltas, giving us pb qa pa qa .
This however is symmetric under interchange of a and b and so we get zero when we subtract off the a b in J ab .
Suppose p < 0 and q < 0. Then we get contributions from only the other two Kronecker deltas, giving pa qa + pb qa ,
which is also symmetric and so vanishes when we include all of J ab .
Suppose p > 0 and q < 0, then we get pb qa + pb qa = 0.
Suppose p < 0 and q > 0, then we get pa qb pa qb = 0.
If p = q = 0 we get no contribution here but we will get a contribution from the commutators with xa0 , which we
compute below.
If p = 0 and q 6= 0 then we get 0a qb + qa 0a , including the contribution from subtracting a b. (Recall that 0a
commutes with qb for all values of q.) This will cancel with a contribution from the xa0 commutators, which we compute
below.
If instead q = 0 and p 6= 0 we get essentially the same thing.
We now need also
[xa0 pb , p p] pa pb (9.4)

and so vanishes when we subtract off a b, and

[xa0 pb , 0 q ] = [xa0 , 0 ] q pb = iqa 0b . (9.5)

In total then for q 6= 0 and p = 0 one gets

iqa 0b iqb 0a i 0a qb + qa 0a = 0 .


(9.6)

This completes the set of possibilities and shows the Lorentz scalar p q is indeed a Lorentz scalar, and so too are the
Virasoro generators.

10
10
Consider the string state
|i = A1 1 + B0 2 + C(0 1 )2 |0; ki .


(10.1)

We assume a = 1 and D is arbitrary. Now, the commutation relations

[na , m
b
] = nn+m,0 (10.2)

tell us that
1a 1b c
|0; ki = ab 1
c
+ ac 1
b


1 |0; ki , (10.3)

1a 1b 1
c d
|0; ki = bc ad + bd ac |0; ki ,


1 (10.4)

2a 2
b
|0; ki = 2 ab |0; ki . (10.5)

Clearly any oscillator na with n 3 will immediately annihilate the given state.
The mass-shell condition is
(L0 1)|i = 0 (10.6)

where
1 2 X
L0 = 0 + N , N = n n . (10.7)
2 n>0

Using equations (10.3) and (10.5) we find

 
1 2
(L0 1)|i = + 2 1 |i (10.8)
2 0

so that we must have

02 = 2 . (10.9)

for this to vanish. (As for an open string 0a = 20 pa this means the mass-squared is m2 = 1/0 .)
The only physical state conditions that are relevant are L1 |i = 0 and L2 |i = 0. These will imply the conditions for
Ln for n > 2, as these operators can be formed using iterated commutators of L1 and L2 , starting with L3 [L1 , L2 ];
alternatively you can write out the first n terms in Ln and see for which n you get the right combinations of oscillators
to not immediately annihilate |i (anything involving 12 , p 1 , p 2 (p 0) will not annihilate the state, but for
instance 1 2 and anything involving p , p 3, will).
Now, we have
1X
L1 = : n 1n : . (10.10)
2 n

The colons here denote normal ordering, i.e. move annihilation operators na , n > 0, to the right. The terms that will
require working out are

n = 2 : 2 1 n = 1 : 1 0 n = 0 : 0 1 n = 1 : 1 2 (10.11)

i.e. we want to require that

(1 2 + 0 1 )|i = 0 . (10.12)

Keeping track of the indices and using equations (10.3) to (10.5) we find that

(1 2 + 0 1 )|i = 2A1 0 + 2B1 0 + 2C(02 )1 0 |0; ki ,

(10.13)

11
and so we must have
2A + 2B 4C = 0 . (10.14)

Just as an example of one of the calculations carried out here, we have for instance

0 1 (0 1 )2 |0; ki = ab ce df 0a 0e 0f 1b 1
c d
|0; ki = ab ce df 0a 0e 0f bc 1
d
+ bd 1
c


1 = 2(0 0 )(0 1 ) .
(10.15)
The others are similar.
1
P
Next we turn to L2 = 2 n : n 2n :. This time around we need the terms

n = 2 : 2 0 n = 1 : 1 1 n = 0 : 0 2 (10.16)

so that we have to require  

1
0 2 + 1 1 |i = 0 . (10.17)
2
This gives  
1
0 2 + 1 1 |i = AD + 2B(0 )2 + C(0 )2 |0; ki .


(10.18)
2
Hence
AD 4B 2C = 0 . (10.19)

Adding this to twice equation (10.14) we get

A
A(D + 4) 10C = 0 C = (D + 4) , (10.20)
10

and substituting this back in we find after a small amount of algebra that

A
B= (D 1) . (10.21)
5

These are the constraints on the coefficients needed to ensure the given state obeys the physical state conditions.
To draw a meaningful conclusion, lets calculate the norm of the state |i:

h|i =A2 h0; k|(1 1 )(1 1 )|0; ki + B 2 h0; k|(0 2 )(0 2 )|0; ki + C 2 h0; k|(0 1 )2 (0 1 )2 |0; ki
+ ACh0; k|(1 1 )(0 1 )2 |0; ki + ACh0; k|(0 1 )2 (1 1 )|0; ki
(10.22)
= 2A2 D + 2B 2 02 + 2B 2 (02 )2 + 2AC02 + 2AC02
= 2A2 D 4B 2 + 8C 2 8AC .

Inserting the expressions for the coefficients we found earlier, we have

 
2 2 2 4 2 4
h|i = 2A D (D 1) + (D + 4) (D + 4) (10.23)
25 100 10

which works out to give

2A2
h|i = (D 1)(26 D) . (10.24)
25
We conclude that for a = 1 and D > 26 there are physical states with negative norms present in the theory.
11
The first massive excited states of an open string are formed by applying

i i j
2 , 1 1 (11.1)

12
to the vacuum. Here i is the light-cone gauge index, taking 24 values. This gives SO(24) multiplets - a vector, a symmetric
i j
traceless tensor, and a scalar (note that 1 1 is automatically symmetric in ij, and we decompose into its trace and
traceless parts as irreducible SO(n) tensors are traceless). In total we have 24 + 12 (24)(25) = 324 states. Now the little
group for a massive representation in 26 dimensions is SO(25) so these light-cone states must combine to give an SO(25)
multiplet. As we have a symmetric SO(24) multiplet its natural to try decomposing the symmetric traceless rank 2 SO(25)
representation, which we see encouragingly has 21 (25)(26) 1 = 324 states (and so we will denote it by 324). Introducing
an SO(25) index I we see that a symmetric traceless rank 2 tensor T IJ decomposes to give

T 25,25 , T i25 , T ij , (11.2)

which correspond to respectively an SO(24) scalar, vector and symmetric traceless tensor (technically if we just restrict
the indices IJ to ij we get an object T ij which is not traceless, however its trace is equal to T 25,25 and so is already
accounted for in the decomposition).
Now, states of the closed string can be constructed as tensor products of open string states. The first excited massive
level of the closed string is then schematically formed by applying

i i j i i j
(2 1 1 ) (e
2
e1
e1 ) (11.3)

to the closed string vacuum. We know the SO(25) structure of each of the factors in this tensor product, and so can say
that the first massive states of the closed string fill out the SO(25) representation 324 324.
To be more precise we can decompose the tensor product by considering the decompositions into irreducible tensors of
the product
T IJ TeKL . (11.4)

We can do the following:

Symmetrise on IJKL and take out the trace formed by contracting JK (say). This gives a totally symmetric tracefree
four-tensor and a symmetric rank two tensor, which further decomposes into a symmetric traceless rank two tensor and
a scalar. (These tensors correspond to the representations 20150, 324 and 1 and the Young tableaux , and .)
We can antisymmetrise in IK and symmetrise in IJL, giving a rank four tensor of mixed symmetry. Contracting on
the symmetric indices JL to make this traceless gives us a decomposition into a rank four traceless mixed symmetry
tensor and an antisymmetric rank two tensor. (These tensors correspond to the representations 52026 and 300 and
the Young tableaux and .)
We can antisymmetrise in IK and JL independently, giving a second rank four traceless tensor of different mixed
symmetry. (This tensor corresponds to the representation 32175 and the Young tableau .)

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