On least action D-branes

We discuss the effect of relevant boundary terms on the nature of branes. This is done for toroidal and orbifold compactifications of the bosonic string, Using the relative minimalization of the boundary entropy as a guiding principle, we uncover the more stable boundary conditions at different regions of moduli space. In some cases, Neumann boundary conditions dominate for small radii while Dirichlet boundary conditions dominate for large radii. The c = 1 and c = 2 moduli spaces are studied in some detail. The antisymmetric background field B is found to have a more limited role in the case of Dirichlet boundary conditions. This is due to some topological considerations. The results are subjected to T-duality tests and the special role of the points in moduli space fixed under T-duality is explained from least-action considerations, (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.