How does the worldsheet turn spacetime vectors into spinors in string theory?

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The discussion centers on Cumrun Vafa's introduction of supersymmetry in string theory, specifically in his paper "Lightning Introduction" (arXiv:hep-th/9702201). It highlights the relationship between spacetime vectors, represented by coordinates X^{\mu}, and fermionic spinors, denoted as \psi_{L,R}^{\mu}, on the worldsheet. The key question raised is how the worldsheet transforms these spacetime vectors into spinors, a fundamental aspect of understanding string theory's structure.

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In Cumrun Vafa's "Lightning Introduction" to string theory in his http://arxiv.org/hep-th/9702201 , he instroduces supersymmetry to string theory thus:

in addition to the coordinates [tex]X^{\mu}[/tex] we also have anti-commuting fermionic coordinates [tex]\psi_{L,R}^{\mu}[/tex] which are spacetime vectors but fermionic spinors on the worldsheet whose chirality is denoted by subscript L, R.


I have no problem with the anti-commutative coordinates themselve, but how does the worldsheet make vectors in spacetime appear as spinors?
 
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selfAdjoint said:
In Cumrun Vafa's "Lightning Introduction" to string theory in his http://archive.org/hep-th/9702201 , he instroduces supersymmetry to string theory thus:

in addition to the coordinates [tex]X^{\mu}[/tex] we also have anti-commuting fermionic coordinates [tex]\psi_{L,R}^{\mu}[/tex] which are spacetime vectors but fermionic spinors on the worldsheet whose chirality is denoted by subscript L, R.




I have no problem with the anti-commutative coordinates themselve, but how does the worldsheet make vectors in spacetime appear as spinors?

darnit selfAdjoint, you spelled arxiv wrong so the link does not work :smile:

http://archive.org/hep-th/9702201

make it
http://arxiv.org/hep-th/9702201
 
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Sorry about that. It's fixed now.
 

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