Draft:Fischler–Susskind mechanism (string theory)

Submission rejected on 11 August 2025 by S0091 (talk). This topic is not sufficiently notable for inclusion in Wikipedia. Rejected by S0091 19 days ago. Last edited by S0091 19 days ago. Ask for advice

Submission declined on 9 August 2025 by S0091 (talk). This draft's references do not show that the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article. In summary, the draft needs multiple published sources that are: in-depth (not just passing mentions about the subject) reliable secondary independent of the subject Make sure you add references that meet these criteria before resubmitting. Learn about mistakes to avoid when addressing this issue. If no additional references exist, the subject is not suitable for Wikipedia. Declined by S0091 21 days ago.

• Comment: See also WT:WikiProject Physics#Draft:Fischler–Susskind mechanism (string theory). The topic might be notable but not acceptable in its current form. The creator needs to respond to concerns ablout the draft on the draft's talk page and also needs to respond to the COI query on their talk page. S0091 (talk) 20:19, 11 August 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: See the Spurious citation section on the talk page. S0091 (talk) 19:44, 11 August 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: I see little to support the name given to this article, regardless of notability of the topic. Having the same name for two distinct topics in a closely related field seems likely to be from a confusion. Also, it is described as a "procedure" in the article, which tends to refer to something quite distinct from a "mechanism". —Quondum 17:01, 11 August 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: See also Fischler–Susskind mechanism. S0091 (talk) 15:11, 11 August 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: I was skeptical, but the core paper has 400 citations by google scholar, see https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Dilaton+Tadpoles%2C+String+Condensates+and+Scale+Invariance&btnG= so it's possible that this one might fly. Stuartyeates (talk) 10:34, 11 August 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: Willy Fischler's publications cannot be used to support notability as they are considered primary sources. S0091 (talk) 19:04, 9 August 2025 (UTC)

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Procedure in string theory to cancel infrared divergences

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The Fischler–Susskind mechanism is a procedure in perturbative string theory introduced in 1986 by Willy Fischler and Leonard Susskind to cancel infrared divergences from tadpole diagrams by adjusting the background fields, thereby preserving conformal invariance.^[1] The mechanism has played a role in developments in string cosmology and D-brane physics.^[2]

Overview

In perturbative string theory, tadpole diagrams can produce infrared divergences when the chosen background does not coincide with the true vacuum. These divergences reflect a nonzero one-point function for a massless field (e.g., the dilaton or graviton).^[3][4]

The Fischler–Susskind mechanism systematically adjusts the background fields order by order so that these tadpole contributions cancel and worldsheet conformal invariance is restored.^[2]

Historical context

Fischler and Susskind outlined the procedure in 1986.^[1] Follow-up analyses clarified the role of background shifts and their relation to beta-function consistency conditions, including work by A. A. Tseytlin and by Callan, Lovelace, Nappi, and Yost.^[5][6]

Applications

The mechanism has been used in several contexts:

• String cosmology — to incorporate backreaction in time-dependent backgrounds.^[5]
• Flux compactifications and consistency conditions — e.g., tadpole resummations and cancellations in backgrounds with localized sources.^[7][8]

See also

• String cosmology
• D-brane

References

1. Fischler, Willy; Susskind, Leonard (1986). "Dilaton Tadpoles, String Condensates and Scale Invariance". Physics Letters B. 171 (3–4): 383–389. Bibcode:1986PhLB..173..262F. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(86)90514-9.
2. Becker, Katrin; Becker, Melanie; Schwarz, John H. (2007). String Theory and M-Theory: A Modern Introduction. Cambridge University Press. pp. 128–131. ISBN 9780521860697.
3. Polchinski, Joseph (1998). String Theory, Vol. 1: An Introduction to the Bosonic String. Cambridge University Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780521633031.
4. Zwiebach, Barton (2009). A First Course in String Theory (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 481. ISBN 9780521880329.
5. Tseytlin, A. A. (1987). "On divergences in non-critical strings due to background vacuum shifts". Physics Letters B. 199 (4): 466–470. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(87)91699-7 (inactive 10 August 2025).
6. Callan, C. G.; Lovelace, C.; Nappi, C. R.; Yost, S. A. (1987). "String loop corrections to beta functions". Nuclear Physics B. 288: 525–550. Bibcode:1987NuPhB.288..525C. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(87)90227-6.
7. Kitazawa, N. (2008). "Tadpole Resummations in String Theory". Physics Letters B. 660: 415–419. doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2008.01.026.
8. Bena, I.; Blåbäck, J.; Graña, M.; Lüst, D. (2021). "The tadpole problem". Journal of High Energy Physics. 2021 (11): 223. arXiv:2010.10519. Bibcode:2021JHEP...11..223B. doi:10.1007/JHEP11(2021)223.

Further reading

• Polchinski, Joseph (1998). String Theory, Vol. 1: An Introduction to the Bosonic String. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521633031.
• Green, Michael B.; Schwarz, John H.; Witten, Edward (1987). Superstring Theory, Vol. 1: Introduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521357524.
• Becker, Katrin; Becker, Melanie; Schwarz, John H. (2007). String Theory and M-Theory: A Modern Introduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521860697.
• Zwiebach, Barton (2009). A First Course in String Theory (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521880329.
• Kitazawa, N. (2008). "Tadpole Resummations in String Theory". Physics Letters B. 660: 415–419. doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2008.01.026.
• Tseytlin, A. A. (1987). "On divergences in non-critical strings due to background vacuum shifts". Physics Letters B. 199 (4): 466–470. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(87)91699-7 (inactive 10 August 2025).
• Callan, C. G.; Lovelace, C.; Nappi, C. R.; Yost, S. A. (1987). "String loop corrections to beta functions". Nuclear Physics B. 288: 525–550. Bibcode:1987NuPhB.288..525C. doi:10.1016/0550-3213(87)90227-6.
• Bena, I.; Blåbäck, J.; Graña, M.; Lüst, D. (2021). "The tadpole problem". Journal of High Energy Physics. 2021 (11): 223. arXiv:2010.10519. Bibcode:2021JHEP...11..223B. doi:10.1007/JHEP11(2021)223.