Twistor Origin of the Superstring

[mitchell porter]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1409.2510
Twistor Origin of the Superstring
Nathan Berkovits (ICTP-SAIFR/IFT-UNESP, Sao Paulo)
(Submitted on 8 Sep 2014)
After introducing a d=10 pure spinor λ^α, the Virasoro constraint ∂x^m∂x_m=0 can be replaced by the twistor-like constraint ∂x^m(γ_mλ)_α=0. Quantizing this twistor-like constraint leads to the pure spinor formalism for the superstring where the fermionic superspace variables θ^α and their conjugate momenta come from the ghosts and antighosts of the twistor-like constraint.

...

We should compare this with Ichiro Oda's "Emergence of Superstring from Pure Spinor".

 

[MTd2]

Let me see if I understand something of the idea. The twistor constrain is a 16 dimensional space, which are spanned pairs of 8 dimension spinors, related by supersymmetry. So, what you have here is bosonic string, where each pair of spinors is a de-bosonized field. And this constrains yield the gauge symmetry of the string.

 

[MTd2]

Note. I am trying to understand! Do not take what I posted above seriously! I am waiting for an answer too if that makes sense!

 

[mitchell porter]

What I understood so far (I had very little time to read it) was that he starts with ten space-time dimensions and a ten-dimensional bosonic spinor. Then he makes a quantum theory for strings in this space, and there are ghost fields which are the worldsheet fermions of the superstring.

I remember that Garrett Lisi (E8 theory) was mocked for hoping that he could get standard model fermions from ghosts somehow...

 

[Ben Niehoff]

Actually I'm sitting in a talk right now by Nathan on this very paper, but I'm not sure I'm expert enough to offer an opinion. :P

 

[Ben Niehoff]

He appears to be saying he hasn't yet shown explicitly how physical fermion states can be obtained from the ghosts.