Worldsheet instantons and a null string limit of Born-Infeld theory

For a superstring theory in four spacetime dimensions, we propose a modification of the Born-Infeld action that possesses a well-defined tensionless limit. We interpret this as describing the effective target space dynamics of null strings on a D3-brane. We argue that such a modification can be induced by nonperturbative contributions from instantons in the worldsheet s-model describing string propagation on the brane. © 2007 Springer-Verlag / Società Italiana di Fisica.