Power-law singularities in string theory and M-theory

Apr, 2004
32 pages
Published in:
  • Class.Quant.Grav. 21 (2004) 5097-5120
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Abstract:
We extend the definition of the Szekeres-Iyer power-law singularities to supergravity, string and M-theory backgrounds, and find that are characterized by Kasner type exponents. The near singularity geometries of brane and some intersecting brane backgrounds are investigated and the exponents are computed. The Penrose limits of some of these power-law singularities have profiles AuγA\sim {\rm u}^{-\gamma} for γ2\gamma\geq 2. We find the range of the exponents for which γ=2\gamma=2 and the frequency squares are bounded by 1/4. We propose some qualitative tests for deciding whether a null or timelike spacetime singularity can be resolved within string theory and M-theory based on the near singularity geometry and its Penrose limits.
  • M-theory
  • string model
  • supergravity
  • membrane model: D-brane
  • membrane model: p-brane
  • membrane: interaction
  • space-time
  • boundary condition
  • singularity
  • Penrose limit