We consider a large coupling limit of a Born-Infeld action in a curved background of an arbitrary metric and a two form field. Following Gibbons, Hori, and Yi, we go to the Hamiltonian description. The Hamiltonian can be dualized and the dual action admits a stringlike configuration as its solution. We interpret it as a closed string configuration. The procedure can be viewed as a novel way of bringing out the appropriate degrees of freedom, a closed string, for an open string under the strong coupling limit. We argue that this interpretation implies a large number of dual pairs of gauge and gravity theories whose particular examples are AdS/CFT and matrix theory conjectures.

• Received 11 July 2001

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.64.081901