A Treatment of the Non-Polynomial Contributions: Application to Calculate Partition Functions of Strings and Membranes

Abstract

In this chapter we will consider a very interesting way of dealing with the additional term of non-polynomial type that has appeared in the series commutation relevant to the zeta-function regularization theorem, as described in the preceding chapters. Later, a first physical application to calculate the partition function corresponding to string, membrane and, in general, p -brane theories will be investigated. Such theories are usually termed as fundamental in any attempt at a rigorous description of QED from first principles.