In quantum field theories, we are often confronted with the situation that there are extended field configurations that are topologically different, for example, instantons and monopoles. They can carry charges that are topological invariants and so are conserved under small fluctuations. Similarly in string theory, D-branes carry topological charges. In the semiclassical geometric description, these charges can be understood as sources of Ramond–Ramond (RR) fields, higher form fields that couple electrically and magnetically to the D-branes. These charges have to be quantized, similar to the Dirac quantization of electric and magnetic charges in electrodynamics.
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Fredenhagen, S. (2008). Physical Background to the K-Theory Classification of D-Branes: Introduction and References. In: Basic Bundle Theory and K-Cohomology Invariants. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 726. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74956-1_1
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