Testing Closed String Field Theory with Marginal Fields

Abstract

We study the feasibility of level expansion and test the quartic vertex of closed string field theory by checking the flatness of the potential in marginal directions. The tests, which work out correctly, require the cancellation of two contributions: one from an infinite-level computation with the cubic vertex and the other from a finite-level computation with the quartic vertex. The numerical results suggest that the quartic vertex contributions are comparable or smaller than those of level four fields.

14 pages, LaTeX. v2: New references to work of Beccaria and Rampino, and Taylor. Improved numerical analysis at the end of section 4