CAN THE EFFECTIVE STRING SEE HIGHER PARTIAL-WAVES

The semiclassical cross sections for arbitrary partial waves of ordina ry scalars to fall into certain five-dimensional black holes have a fo rm that seems capable of explanation in terms of the effective string model. The kinematics of these processes is analyzed in detail on the effective string and is shown to reproduce the correct functional form of the semiclassical cross sections. But it is necessary to choose a peculiar value of the effective string tension to obtain the correct s caling properties. Furthermore, the assumptions of locality and statis tics combine to forbid the effective string from absorbing more than a finite number of partial waves. The relation of this limitation to co smic censorship is discussed.