(Anti-)De Sitter null strings and Carroll-Weyl symmetry
Abstract
We construct a dSd null string in a novel way by lifting the standard tensionless string to R1,d. Gauging worldsheet scale symmetry introduces terms in the action breaking translation invariance, but preserving the dSd symmetry SO(1,d). Choosing a De Sitter symmetric gauge fixing of the scale symmetry yields a d dimensional theory which we show has all the expected properties of dSd tensionless strings. The action happens to be the intriguing Carrol-Weyl symmetric string action in R1,d, now with a clear target space interpretation in d dimensions. That it does not, as recently claimed, represent a (d+1)-dimensional string in flat (d+1)-dimensional Minkowski space settles an apparent issue with the Carrol-Weyl string model. Furthermore, while there are clear obstacles for similar formulations of tensile strings in (A)dS backgrounds, our new insights are easily modified to the formulation of Anti-De Sitter tensionless strings. That our construction generates a curved geometry purely algebraically may have even wider applications.
Related
- Reflected constraint algebras of open Carroll--Weyl null strings
- Path integral quantization of null bosonic strings with Carroll-Weyl ghosts
- Carroll-Weyl gauged null strings in AdS
- Path integral quantization of null bosonic strings with Carroll-Weyl ghosts
- BRST quantization of Carroll-Weyl gauged null strings
BibTeX
@misc{lindstrom2026antide,
title = {{(Anti-)De Sitter null strings and Carroll-Weyl symmetry}},
author = {Ulf Lindström and Bo Sundborg},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.07765},
eprint = {2609.07765},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.07765},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - (Anti-)De Sitter null strings and Carroll-Weyl symmetry
AU - Ulf Lindström
AU - Bo Sundborg
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/07
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.07765
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.07765
AB - We construct a dS_d null string in a novel way by lifting the standard tensionless string to R^1,d. Gauging worldsheet scale symmetry introduces terms in the action breaking translation invariance, but preserving the dS_d symmetry SO(1,d). Choosing a De Sitter symmetric gauge fixing of the scale symmetry yields a d dimensional theory which we show has all the expected properties of dS_d tensionless strings. The action happens to be the intriguing Carrol-Weyl symmetric string action in R^1,d, now with a clear target space interpretation in d dimensions. That it does not, as recently claimed, represent a (d+1)-dimensional string in flat (d+1)-dimensional Minkowski space settles an apparent issue with the Carrol-Weyl string model. Furthermore, while there are clear obstacles for similar formulations of tensile strings in (A)dS backgrounds, our new insights are easily modified to the formulation of Anti-De Sitter tensionless strings. That our construction generates a curved geometry purely algebraically may have even wider applications.
ER -