Non-perturbative thermodynamics in Matrix string theory Original Research Article

A study of the thermodynamics in IIA Matrix String Theory is presented. The free string limit is calculated and seen to exactly reproduce the usual result. When energies are enough to excite non-perturbative objects like D-particles and specially membranes, the situation changes because they add a large number of degrees of freedom that do not appear at low energies. There seems to be a negative specific heat (even in the microcanonical ensemble) that moves the asymptotic temperature to zero. Besides, the mechanism of interaction and attachment of open strings to D-particles and D-membranes is analyzed.