# Meaning of carrying a Ramond-Ramond charge ?

1. Sep 27, 2004

### nrqed

Meaning of "carrying a Ramond-Ramond charge"?

Hi,

I'm hoping someone will be able to help me understand this kind of statement. For example when they say that a brane carries a R-R charge. I gues sit all comes out to the fact that one can write an integral which basically sums up the electric flux (or magnetic flux in some cases).

But I am still baffled by these terms. I guess they are meant to be the (higher dimensional) analogue of calculation of flux through gaussian surfaces but I am not sure I get it. Two questions:

Here the integration is over the "higher dimensional surfaces" of the brane, right(which is therefore quite different then the usual calculations of flux which are done over the surfaces of imaginary gaussian surfaces)?

But then, what is the source of these fields? I thought that the branes themselves were the sources, but then one would integrate over "surafces" which would enclose the branes! But it looks to me as if the integrals are over the "surfaces" of the branes themselves!

So I am obviously missing the point. I would appreciate some help.

Regards

Pat

2. Oct 2, 2004

### Mk

What the heck are R-R tadpoles?
What is R-R?

3. Oct 2, 2004