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Branes

Branes are multidimensional objects that arise in string theory and related frameworks. A p-brane has p spatial dimensions, so a 0-brane is a point particle and a 1-brane is a string. They propagate in higher-dimensional spacetimes, and their worldvolume—their time-evolved history—has p+1 dimensions.

D-branes, or Dirichlet branes, are branes on which open strings end. Dp-branes carry charges under Ramond-Ramond

In M-theory, the primary branes are the M2-brane and the M5-brane, which couple to the 3-form field

Branes play a central role in many constructions. The gauge/gravity duality, or AdS/CFT, relates a large stack

gauge
fields
and
have
dynamics
described
by
the
Dirac-Born-Infeld
action,
often
with
a
Chern-Simons
term.
A
stack
of
N
coincident
Dp-branes
supports
a
U(N)
gauge
theory
on
its
(p+1)-dimensional
worldvolume.
of
eleven-dimensional
supergravity.
Through
dualities,
D-branes
and
M-branes
map
to
one
another
and
to
other
nonperturbative
objects
such
as
NS5-branes
and
fundamental
strings.
of
D3-branes
in
type
IIB
string
theory
to
a
conformal
field
theory
on
the
boundary
of
an
AdS5
x
S5
spacetime.
Brane
dynamics
also
informs
brane-world
scenarios
in
which
standard-model
fields
are
confined
to
a
3-brane
while
gravity
propagates
in
extra
dimensions.
In
supergravity,
branes
generalize
black
holes
to
black
branes
with
extended
horizons;
some
branes
preserve
subsets
of
supersymmetry
(BPS
branes),
while
others
are
unstable.