D-instanton 2026-10-14
A Euclidean type-IIB D-brane localized in all spacetime directions, coupling electrically to the RR scalar . It is an instanton, not a Lorentzian particle with negative spatial dimension. The magnetic partner of that scalar charge is a D7-brane.
A -form gauge potential couples electrically to a spatial -brane through the Wess-Zumino brane coupling
The worldvolume dimension supplies exactly the degree required for integration. Under , the change is , so a closed worldvolume is gauge invariant; an open one needs suitable endpoint couplings. If has an ordinary dual potential, has degree and the dual potential degree . Thus the electric and magnetic dimensions of a form-coupled brane are
Electric charge is measured by , magnetic charge by , on spheres linking the corresponding objects. Flux normalization, and possible Chern-Simons modifications of charge definitions, must be fixed in interacting backgrounds; this is the basic linear form-field dictionary.
In ten dimensions the common NS-NS fields are the graviton , Kalb–Ramond field , and dilaton . Their on-shell bosonic polarizations are , respectively. The graviton count is , and a massless -form has transverse polarizations. The RR fields distinguish the two theories:
TheoryRR potentials and physical polarizationsTotal bosonsFermions and chiralities
Type IIA superstring theory, Two opposite-chirality Majorana-Weyl gravitini; two opposite-chirality Majorana-Weyl dilatini
Type IIB superstring theory, , with self-dual Two same-chirality Majorana-Weyl gravitini; two same-chirality Majorana-Weyl dilatini of the opposite chirality to the gravitini
Each gravitino has physical polarizations, and each dilatino , giving fermions in either theory. In IIA the two supersymmetry sectors have opposite ten-dimensional chiralities, and the dilatino in each sector has chirality opposite to its gravitino. In IIB both gravitini can be designated positive-chirality and both dilatini negative-chirality. The self-duality of the IIB five-form halves the unconstrained four-form count to . These are the massless type IIA spectrum and massless type IIB spectrum, not raw component counts.
The Neveu–Schwarz two-form couples electrically to the fundamental string and magnetically to the NS5-brane in both theories. IIA couples electrically to a D0-brane and magnetically to a D6-brane; couples electrically to a D2-brane and magnetically to a D4-brane. The magnetic descriptions use dual seven-form and five-form potentials, not extra independent polarizations. In IIB, gives D1-brane and D5-brane charges, while self-dual gives the self-dual D3-brane. The scalar couples to a Euclidean D-instanton, whose magnetic partner is the D7-brane. Momentum and, after circle compactification, Kaluza-Klein monopole charge come from the metric sector.
The full brane inventory also involves nonpropagating top-form potentials. A D8-brane is an IIA domain-wall source for Romans mass , described dually by a nine-form potential; it is not generated by the propagating massless spectrum alone. A space-filling IIB D9-brane has a ten-form coupling and requires appropriate global RR-charge consistency. Such fields add no ordinary massless polarizations. This distinction avoids confusing the list of propagating particles with all possible charged extended objects.
For T-duality, compactify a spatial coordinate with . Closed strings have integer momentum and winding , with
The map
leaves unchanged and reverses . Equivalently, it reverses while keeping , and reverses the corresponding right-moving worldsheet fermion to preserve worldsheet supersymmetry. Multiplication of the right Ramond ground-state spinor by reverses its ten-dimensional chirality. Left and right Ramond projections therefore change from opposite chirality to equal chirality, or conversely:
The zero-mode mass contribution and the oscillator spectrum are unchanged. The Buscher dilaton shift gives , which preserves the nine-dimensional gravitational coupling proportional to . The mixed metric and two-form components along the circle are exchanged; RR potentials with a circle leg map to one lower degree and those without it to one higher degree, in the corresponding gauge-covariant description.
For open strings, the derivative relations and exchange Neumann boundary conditions with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Consequently a wrapped D-brane becomes a D-brane, while a transverse one becomes a wrapped D-brane. The even-dimensional IIA branes and odd-dimensional IIB branes therefore transform consistently with the closed-string chirality flip; transverse positions and compact gauge Wilson lines are exchanged.