Worldvolume fields from open-string massless states (source code)

= Worldvolume fields from open-string massless states

A massless open-string vector polarization tangential to a planar <D-brane> becomes a worldvolume gauge field. Transverse polarizations become <scalar fields> describing fluctuations of its position. This supports the interpretation of a Dirichlet plane as a dynamical extended object. The unprojected bosonic open-string <tachyon> additionally signals that its brane ground state is unstable; the massless field interpretation does not remove that instability.