Related papers: A simple approach to counterterms in N=8 supergrav…
We compute the supersymmetry constraints on the R^4 type corrections in maximal supergravity in dimension 8, 6, 4 and 3, and determine the tensorial differential equations satisfied by the function of the scalar fields multiplying the R^4…
We show that the recently proposed DBI extension of new massive gravity emerges naturally as a counterterm in AdS$_4$. The resulting on-shell Euclidean action is independent of the cut-off at zero temperature. We also find that the same…
Using the U(4) formalism developed ten years ago, the worldsheet action for the superstring in Ramond-Ramond plane wave backgrounds is expressed in a manifestly N=(2,2) superconformally invariant manner. This simplifies the construction of…
We formulate D=11 supergravity over the octonions by rewriting 32-component Majorana spinors as 4-component octonionic spinors. Dimensional reduction to D=4 and D=3 suggests an interpretation of the so-called 'dilaton vectors', which…
The scalar potentials of the non-semi-simple CSO(p,8-p)(p=7,6,5) gaugings of N=8 supergravity are studied for critical points. The CSO(7,1) gauging has no G_2-invariant critical points, the CSO(6,2) gauging has three new SU(3)-invariant AdS…
We compute the symbol of the two-loop five-point amplitude in $\mathcal N=8$ supergravity. We write an ansatz for the amplitude whose rational prefactors are based on not only 4-dimensional leading singularities, but also $d$-dimensional…
We study supersymmetric Sp(2N) gauge theories with matter in the antisymmetric tensor representation and F fundamentals. For F=6 we solve the theory exactly in terms of confined degrees of freedom and a superpotential. By adding mass terms…
As open N=2 or 4 strings describe self-dual N=4 super Yang-Mills in 2+2 dimensions, the corresponding closed (heterotic) strings describe self-dual ungauged (gauged) N=8 supergravity. These theories are conveniently formulated in a chiral…
We study the Kaluza-Klein spectrum of D=5 simple supergravity on $S^2$ with special interest in the relation to a two-dimensional N=4 superconformal field theory. The spectrum is obtained around the maximally supersymmetric…
We present an efficient method for finding the independent invariant tensors of a gauge theory. Our method uses a theorem relating invariant tensors and D-flat directions in field space. We apply our method to several examples-- SO(3) with…
Via a challenging field-theory computation, we confirm a supergravity prediction for the non-supersymmetric D3-D7 probe-brane system with probe geometry AdS_4 x S^2 x S^2, stabilized by fluxes. Supergravity predicts, in a certain…
All anomaly candidates and the form of the most general invariant local action are given for old and new minimal supergravity, including the cases where additional Yang--Mills and chiral matter multiplets are present. Furthermore nonminimal…
We consider 4D quantum gravity with N-dilatons with the most general couplings. Especially, on constant dilaton and arbitrary metric background, we show the structure of the divergent terms. We show the constraint between the couplings…
We consider D-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories with 8 supercharges (D<6,$~\mathcal{N}=8$) in the framework of harmonic superspaces. The effective Abelian low-energy action for D=5 contains the free and Chern-Simons terms. Effective…
We obtain de Sitter (dS) solutions from controlled string-theory constructions. We review how minimal gauged chiral 6D supergravity evades standard dS no-go theorems by having a positive scalar potential and describe the known 4D classical…
Starting from basic identities of the group E8, we perform progressive reductions, namely decompositions with respect to the maximal and symmetric embeddings of E7xSU(2) and then of E6xU(1). This procedure provides a systematic approach to…
The tensor power method generalizes the matrix power method to higher order arrays, or tensors. Like in the matrix case, the fixed points of the tensor power method are the eigenvectors of the tensor. While every real symmetric matrix has…
The truncation formulae of $D=11$ supergravity on $S^7$ to $D=4$ ${\cal N} =8$ SO(8)-gauged supergravity are completed to include the full non-linear dependence of the $D=11$ three-form potential $\hat A_{(3)}$ on the $D=4$ fields, and…
We study the leading irrelevant operators along the flat directions of certain supersymmetric theories. In particular, we focus on finite N=2 (including N=4) supersymmetric field theories in four dimensions and show that these operators are…
We give a superspace description of D=3, N=8 supergravity. The formulation is off-shell in the sense that the equations of motion are not implied by the superspace constraints (but an action principle is not given). The multiplet structure…