Zero Mode Divergence Problem in String Theory

Abstract

For $2D$ string theory, the perturbative $S$-matrices are not well-defined due to a zero mode divergence. Although there exist formal procedures to make the integral convergent, their physical meanings are unclear. We describe a method to obtain finite $S$-matrices physically to justify the formal schemes. The scheme uses asymptotic states by wave packets which fall faster than exponentials. It is shown that the scheme gives well-defined $S$-matrices and justifies the formal shifted Virasoro-Shapiro amplitude for simple processes. The tree-level unitarity for these processes is also shown. We point out a problem in this scheme.