Time-Delay at Higher Genus in High-Energy Open String Scattering

Abstract

We explore some aspects of causal time-delay in open string scattering studied recently by Seiberg, Susskind and Toumbas. By examining high-energy scattering amplitudes at higher order in perturbation theory, we argue that causal time-delay at G-th order is 1/(G+1) times smaller than the time-delay at tree level. We propose a space-time interpretation of the result by utilizing the picture of the high-energy open string scattering put forward by Gross and Manes. We argue that the phenomenon of reduced time-delay is attributed to the universal feature of the space-time string trajectory in high-energy scattering that string shape at higher order remains the same as that at tree level but overall scale is reduced. We also discuss implications to the space-time uncertainty principle and make brief comments on causal time-delay behavior in space/time noncommutative field theory.