Hagedorn Temperature in Superstring Bits and SU(N) Characters

Abstract

We study the simplest superstring bit model at finite N using the characters of the SU(N) group. We obtain exact, analytic expressions for small N partition functions and Gaussian approximations for them in the high temperature limit for all N. We use numerical evidence to identify two temperature regimes where the partition function has different limiting behaviors. The temperature at which this transition takes place is identified as the Hagedorn temperature.