Picture-Changing operators and Space-Time supersymmetry

Abstract

We explore geometrical properties of fermionic vertex operators for a NSR superstring in order to establish connection between worldsheet and target space supersymmetries. The mechanism of picture-changing is obtained as a result of imposing certain constraints on a world-sheet gauge group of the NSR theory. It is found that picture-changing operators of various integer ghost numbers form a polynomial ring. By using properties of the picture-changing formalism we establish connection between the NSR and GS superstring theories. We explore the properties of the $κ$-symmetry in the NSR formalism and show that it leads to some new identities between correlation functions.

24 pages