Gerbes and Massive Type II Configurations

Abstract

We find novel bound states of NS5, D6 and D8-branes in massive Type IIA string theory. As the NS gauge transformations can change the Chern class of the RR field these configurations should be thought of as nonlocal objects called gerbes. We develop a global formalism for theories that involve massive tensor fields in general, and apply it in massive Type IIA supergravity. We check the results by investigating the T-dual NS5/D5-brane configurations in Type IIB, and relate them to an F-theory compactification on a CY3. We comment on the implications to consistency conditions for brane-wrapping and the classification of D-brane charges in terms of K-theory classes.