Stretched strings and worldsheets with a handle

Abstract

In the presence of the constant background NS two-form gauge field, we construct the worldsheet partition functions, bulk propagators and boundary propagators for the worldsheets with a handle and a boundary. We analyze the noncommutative phi (3) field theory amplitudes that correspond to the general two-point insertions on the two-loop nonplanar vacuum bubble. By the direct string theory amplitude computations on the worldsheets with a handle, which reduce to the aforementioned field theory amplitudes in the decoupling limit, we find that the stretched string interpretation remains valid for the types of amplitudes in consideration. This completes the demonstration that the stretched string picture holds up in the general multiloop context. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.