Untwisting the Pure Spinor Formalism to the RNS and Twistor String in a Flat and $AdS_5\times S^5$ Background

Abstract

The pure spinor formalism for the superstring can be formulated as a twisted N=2 worldsheet theory with fermionic generators $j_{BRST}$ and composite $b$ ghost. After untwisting the formalism to an N=1 worldsheet theory with fermionic stress tensor $j_{BRST}+b$, the worldsheet variables combine into N=1 worldsheet superfields $X^m$ and $\Theta^\alpha$ together with a superfield constraint relating $DX^m$ and $D\Theta^\alpha$. The constraint implies that the worldsheet superpartner of $\theta^\alpha$ is a bosonic twistor variable, and different solutions of the constraint give rise to the pure spinor or extended RNS formalisms, as well as a new twistor-string formalism with manifest N=1 worldsheet supersymmetry. These N=1 worldsheet methods generalize in curved Ramond-Ramond backgrounds, and a manifestly N=1 worldsheet supersymmetric action is proposed for the superstring in an $AdS_5\times S^5$ background in terms of the twistor superfields. This $AdS_5\times S^5$ worldsheet action is a remarkably simple fermionic coset model with manifest $PSU(2,2|4)$ symmetry and might be useful for computing $AdS_5\times S^5$ superstring scattering amplitudes.