Rolling tachyons from Liouville theory

Abstract

In this work we propose an exact solution of the c=1 Liouville model, i.e. of\nthe world-sheet theory that describes the homogeneous decay of a closed string\ntachyon. Our expressions are obtained through careful extrapolation from the\ncorrelators of Liouville theory with c > 25. In the c=1 limit, we find two\ndifferent theories which differ by the signature of Liouville field. The\nEuclidean limit coincides with the interacting c=1 theory that was constructed\nby Runkel and Watts as a limit of unitary minimal models. The couplings for the\nLorentzian limit are new. In contrast to the behavior at c > 1, amplitudes in\nboth c=1 models are non-analytic in the momenta and consequently they are not\nrelated by Wick rotation.\n