SOME ISSUES IN THE LOOP VARIABLE APPROACH TO OPEN STRINGS AND AN EXTENSION TO CLOSED STRINGS

Some issues in the loop variable renormalization group approach to gau ge-invariant equations for the free fields of the open string are disc ussed. It had been shown in an earlier paper that this leads to a simp le form of the gauge transformation law. We discuss in some detail som e of the curious features encountered there. The theory looks a little like a massless theory in one higher dimension that can be dimensiona lly reduced to give a massive theory. We discuss the origin of some co nstraints that are needed for gauge invariance and also for reducing t he set of fields to that of standard string theory. The mechanism of g auge invariance and the connection with the Virasoro algebra is a litt le different from the usual story and is discussed. It is also shown t hat these results can be extended in a straightforward manner to close d strings.