Winding tachyons in BTZ

Abstract

Analysing closed string tachyon condensation will improve our understanding of spacetime in string theory. We study the string spectrum on a BTZ black hole spacetime supported by NS-NS flux, which provides a calculable example where we would expect to find a quasi-localised tachyon. We find that there is a winding tachyon when the black hole horizon is smaller than the string scale, as expected. However, due to effects of the NS-NS B field, this tachyon is not localised in the region where the spatial circle is string scale. We also discuss the relation to the Milne orbifold in the limit near the singularity.