THE CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM-THEORY OF RELATIVISTIC P-BRANES WITHOUT CONSTRAINTS

It is shown that a relativistic (i.e. a Poincare invariant) theory of extended objects (called p-branes) is not necessarily invariant under reparametrizations of corresponding p-dimensional worldsheets (includi ng worldlines for p = = 0). Consequently, no constraints among the dyn amical variables are necessary and quantization is straightforward. Ad ditional degrees of freedom so obtained are given a physical interpret ation as being related to membrane's elastic deformations (''wigglenes s''). In particular, such a more genera, unconstrained theory implies as solutions also those p-brane states that are solutions of the conve ntional theory of the Dirac-Nambu-Gotto type.