On the relation between p-adic and ordinary strings

Abstract

The amplitudes for the tree-level scattering of the open string tachyons, generalised to the field of p-adic numbers, define the p-adic string theory. There is empirical evidence of its relation to the ordinary string theory in the p_to_1 limit. We revisit this limit from a worldsheet perspective and argue that it is naturally thought of as a continuum limit in the sense of the renormalisation group.