Tunneling of Born-Infeld strings to D2-branes

A Born-Infeld theory describing a D2-brane coupled to a 4-form RR field str ength is considered, and the general solutions of the static and Euclidean time equations are derived and discussed. The period of the bounce solution s is shown to allow a consideration of tunneling and quantum-classical tran sitions in the sphaleron region. The order of such transitions, depending o n the strength of the RR field strength, is determined. A criterion is then derived to confirm these findings. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.