On the Ground State of the Supersymmetric Five-brane

Abstract

We examine if there exists a zero-energy supersymmetric ground state for the fundamental five-brane. Looking for an $SO(6)\times SO(2)$- invariant ground state, we construct, in the light-cone gauge, perturbatively a Nicolai map up to third order in the inverse five-brane tension. We show that the Nicolai map equilibrates and the five-brane has a zero-energy normalizable supersymmetric vacuum state. For the other p-branes, we argue that only the three-brane has a zero-energy ground state.