Strings at finite temperature and deconfinement

Abstract

We demonstrate two general properties of string models at finite temperature. About zero temperature, the leading decrease in the effective string tension is calculable in any dimension $d$. For all temperatures, string theories are soluble in an expansion about infinite $d$, exhibiting a finite temperature $T_c$ at which the effective string tension vanishes, with $T_c\sim d^{-\frac{1}{2}}$.