On the nature of the Hagedorn transition in NCOS systems

Abstract

We extend the study of the nature of the Hagedorn transition in NCOS systems in various dimensions. The canonical analysis results in a microscopic ionization picture of a bound state system in which the Hagedorn transition is postponed till irrelevancy. A microcanonical analysis leads to a limiting Hagedorn behaviour dominated by highly excited, long open strings. The study of the full phase diagram of the NCOS system using the AdS/CFT correspondence suggests that the microscopic ionization picture is the correct one. We discuss some refinements of the ionization mechanism for $d>2$ NCOS systems, including the formation of a temperature-dependent barrier for the process. Some possible consequences of this behaviour, including a potential puzzle for $d=5$, are discussed. Phase diagrams of a regularized form of NCOS systems are introduced and do accomodate a phase of long open strings which disappears in the strict NCOS limit.