DUAL QCD, EFFECTIVE STRING THEORY, AND REGGE TRAJECTORIES

We start with an effective field theory containing classical vortex solutions and show that the fluctuations of these vortices are described by an effective string theory. Viewed as a model for long distance QCD, this theory provides a concrete picture of the QCD string as a fluctuating Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortex of a dual superconductor on the border between type I and type II. We present arguments which suggest that the action of the effective string theory is the Nambu-Goto action, i.e. the rigidity vanishes. We then use this theory to calculate the corrections to classical Regge trajectories due to string fluctuations.