Stringy torsion

Abstract

Over the years a third-rank antisymmetric tensor field, derived as the exterior derivative of a potential, has been considered as a part of string theory Lagrangians. It is shown that this antisymmetric field arises naturally in a theory of gravitation with a torsion potential in four dimensions. In this case, the physical significance of the antisymmetric field corresponds to a propagating spin field, and the material source is shown to consist of a loop, and not a point.