Kinky D-branes and straight strings of open string tachyon effective theory

In this letter, using the effective action of non-BPS tachyonic D-branes, we construct the kink D1-brane super D-helix solution and its T-dual the D2-brane supertube. In the limit of zero angular momentum, both types of solutions collapse to zero radius, giving rise respectively to a degenerate string configuration corresponding to a particle travelling with the speed of light and to a static straight string configuration. These solutions shear all the properties of fundamental strings and do not have the pathological behavior of other solutions previously found in this context. A short discussion on the “generalized gauge transformations” suggested by Sen is used to justify the validity of our approach. [email protected] [email protected]