Interactions between dielectric branes

Quantum corrections to the energy of D0-branes in a constant RR 4-form background are studied. Using the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, we compute the long-range interaction between two spherical D2-D0 bound states. We extend this calculation to the case where some mass terms are added. For the special value of masses at which the classical energy vanishes, we find complete cancellations of two boson-fermion pairs in the quantum mechanical expression of the zero-point energy, suggesting possible restoration of (partial) supersymmetries. We also briefly discuss the interaction between a dielectric 2-brane and a single D0-brane. (author)