A note on brane creation
The M-theory origin of brane creation processes is discussed. e-mail: dealwis@gopika.colorado.edu Recently Hanany and Witten[1] have shown how to derive non-perturbative results for (three-dimensional) field theory starting from ten-dimensional type IIB. In the course of the discussion they derived certain brane transition rules which show that when certain branes cross, other branes are created. This phenomenon has been the subject of some discussion [2],[3],[4],[5],[6]. In this paper we will discuss the M-theory origin of these transition rules. In particular the correct normalizations of various terms in the action of five and two branes coupled to M-theory obtained in [7], [8], will enable us to fix directly the relations between the charges and intersection numbers that enter into these rules. We work in eleven dimesional Planck units, i.e. we have set 2κ11 = 1 so that the M-membrane tension is T2 = (2π) 2/3 and the five-brane tension is T5 = (2π) . The action I for low-energy M theory coupled to a two-brane and a five-brane allowing also for the possibility of the two-brane ending on the five-brane is, I 2π = − 1 2 (2π) 1 3 ∫