PREPRINT
41E9568B-2B96-469E-9799-D6DDEE03BB92

# CLASSICAL SPLITTING OF FUNDAMENTAL STRINGS

H. J. de Vega, J. Ramírez Mittelbrunn, M. Ramón Medrano, N. Sánchez
arXiv:hep-th/9502049

Submitted on 7 February 1995

## Abstract

We find exact solutions of the string equations of motion and constraints describing the {\em classical}\ splitting of a string into two. We show that for the same Cauchy data, the strings that split have {\bf smaller} action than the string without splitting. This phenomenon is already present in flat space-time. The mass, energy and momentum carried out by the strings are computed. We show that the splitting solution describes a natural decay process of one string of mass $M$ into two strings with a smaller total mass and some kinetic energy. The standard non-splitting solution is contained as a particular case. We also describe the splitting of a closed string in the background of a singular gravitational plane wave, and show how the presence of the strong gravitational field increases (and amplifies by an overall factor) the negative difference between the action of the splitting and non-splitting solutions.

## Preprint

Comment: 27 pages, revtex,

Subjects: High Energy Physics - Theory; Astrophysics; General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology; High Energy Physics - Phenomenology