I have the bosonic string action:
S=−14πα′∫Σd2σ√−ggab∂aXμ∂bXνGμν(X)+ϵabBμν(X)∂aXμ∂bXν
where Gμνis the metric for the background spacetime, gabis the worldsheet metric, Bμνis the Kalb-Ramond 2-form field and ϵabis the totally antisymmetric tensor density.
I'm supposed to get the equations of motion:
∂a∂aXμ+Γμνρ∂aXν∂aXρ−12Hμνρ∂aXν∂bXρϵab=0
where Γμνρare the connection components for the background spacetime and Hμμρ=GμξHξνρare the components of the Kalb-Ramond field strength H=dB. When I vary the second term of the action I get a term of the form ∇aBμν∂bXνϵab=∇ρBμν∂aXρ∂bXνϵab, but I don't know how to get the other terms of Hμνρ=12∇[μBνρ].
What I do instead is assume the worldsheet is the boundary of some 3-dimensional region. Then the second term of the action turns into an integral of H over this region and the variation gives the desired equations of motions.
This seems a bit hacky, as I'm not sure I can assume the worldsheed is a boundary even for a closed string, and obviously not for the open string. I'd also like to analyze the two terms of the action in parallel. Is there a way to get the equations of motion in this form by direct variation of the action?