String theory considered as a local gauge theory of an extended object

Abstract
In attempting to understand more about the physical origin of the so-called ‘‘chordal gauge symmetry’’ in string field theory it is found that one can, at least formally, consider the theory as a generalized local gauge theory. However, the fundamental object is no longer a point, as in ordinary gauge theory, but a point with a tail, and it is the motion of this tail which represents the internal gauge degree of freedom. Moreover, the differential geometry is based on the non-Abelian conformal group instead of the usual translation group.

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