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We show that N = 8 supergravity may possess an even larger symmetry than previously believed. Such an enhanced symmetry is needed to explain why this theory of gravity exhibits ultraviolet behaviour reminiscent of the finite N = 4…
The unified theory of string and two-dimensional quantum gravity is considered. The action for two-dimensional gravity is choosen in a well-known induced form and thus gravity posesses it's oun nontrivial dynamics even on the classical…
The role of duality symmetries in the construction of counterterms for maximal supergravity theories is discussed in a field-theoretic context from different points of view. These are: dimensional reduction, the question of whether…
In this work we use constructs from the dual space of the semi-direct product of the Virasoro algebra and the affine Lie algebra of a circle to write a theory of gravitation which is a natural analogue of Yang-Mills theory. The theory…
Matroids give rise to several natural constructions of polytopes. Inspired by this, we examine polytopes that arise from the signed circuits of an oriented matroid. We give the dimensions of these polytopes arising from graphical oriented…
We follow the point of view that superstring theory, as the theory of quantum gravity in the number of spacetime dimensions bigger than 4, serves as mathematics for both, 4 dimensional QG and exotic smoothness on open 4-manifolds.…
By applying loop quantum gravity techniques to 3D gravity with a positive cosmological constant $\Lambda$, we show how the local gauge symmetry of the theory, encoded in the constraint algebra, acquires the quantum group structure of…
In three spacetime dimensions, where no graviton propagates, pure gravity is known to be finite. It is natural to inquire whether finiteness survives the coupling with matter. Standard arguments ensure that there exists a subtraction scheme…
It is argued that quantum gravity has an interpretation as a topological field theory provided a certain constraint from the path intergral measure is respected. The constraint forces us to couple gauge and matter fields to gravity for…
Topological quantum field theories containing matter fields are constructed by twisting $N=2$ supersymmetric quantum field theories. It is shown that $N=2$ chiral (antichiral) multiplets lead to topological sigma models while $N=2$ twisted…
A self-contained review is given of the matrix model of M-theory. The introductory part of the review is intended to be accessible to the general reader. M-theory is an eleven-dimensional quantum theory of gravity which is believed to…
We present the historical path from General relativity to the construction of Maximal $\mathcal{N}_4 = 8$ Supergravity with a detour in D=10 and 11 dimensions. The supergravities obtained by toric dimensional reduction and/or by reducing…
Higher-order invariants and their role as possible counterterms for supergravity theories are reviewed. It is argued that N=8 supergravity will diverge at 5 loops. The construction of $R^4$ superinvariants in string and M-theory is…
New gaugings of four dimensional N=8 supergravity are constructed, including one which has a Minkowski space vacuum that preserves N=2 supersymmetry and in which the gauge group is broken to $SU(3)xU(1)^2$. Previous gaugings used the form…
We consider subleading terms in the one-loop Matrix theory potential between a classical membrane state and a supergraviton. Nontrivial terms arise at order v/r^8 and v^3/r^8 which are proportional to the angular momentum of the membrane…
We construct a topological theory for euclidean gravity in four dimensions, by enforcing self-duality conditions on the spin connection. The corresponding topological symmetry is associated to the SU(2) X diffeomorphism X U(1) invariance.…
We describe an approach to the quantisation of (2+1)-dimensional gravity with topology R x T^2 and negative cosmological constant, which uses two quantum holonomy matrices satisfying a q-commutation relation. Solutions of diagonal and…
Despite their diversity, many of the most prominent candidate theories of quantum gravity share the property to be effectively lower-dimensional at small scales. In particular, dimension two plays a fundamental role in the finiteness of…
One of the interesting features about field theories in odd dimensions is the induction of parity violating terms and well-defined {\em finite} topological actions via quantum loops if a fermion mass term is originally present and…
We discuss the canonical treatment and quantization of matter coupled supergravity in three dimensions, with special emphasis on $N=2$ supergravity. We then analyze the quantum constraint algebra; certain operator ordering ambiguities are…