Stringy symmetries and the higher spin square

Abstract

Tensionless string theory on , as captured by a free symmetric product orbifold, has a large set of conserved currents which can be usefully organized in terms of representations of a supersymmetric higher spin algebra. In this paper we focus on the single particle currents which generate the asymptotic stringy symmetry algebra on , and whose wedge modes describe the unbroken gauge symmetries of string theory in this background. We show that this global subalgebra contains two distinct higher spin algebras that generate the full algebra as a ‘higher spin square’. The resulting unbroken stringy symmetry algebra is exponentially larger than the two individual higher spin algebras.