Related papers: On geometry of congruences of null strings in 4-di…
We review the integrable systems which arise as symmetry reductions of Plebanski's heavenly equations, and their generalisations. We also show that all four-dimensional null Kahler-Einstein (or type N hyper-heavenly) metrics with symmetry…
Some relationships between string theories and eleven-dimensional supergravity are discussed and reviewed. We see how some relationships can be derived from others. The cases of N=2 supersymmetry in nine dimensions and N=4 supersymmetry in…
A totally umbilical submanifold in pseudo-Riemannian manifolds is a fundamental notion, which is characterized by the condition that the second fundamental form is proportional to the metric. It is also a generalization of the notion of a…
The nullity distributions of the two curvature tensors \, $\overast{R}$ and $\overast{P}$ of the Chern connection of a Finsler manifold are investigated. The completeness of the nullity foliation associated with the nullity distribution…
We study perturbative compactifications of Type II string theory that rely on a fibration structure of the extra dimensions a la SYZ. Non-geometric spaces are obtained by using T-dualities as monodromies. These vacua generically preserve…
We classify the supersymmetric solutions of minimal $N=2$ gauged supergravity in four dimensions with neutral signature. They are distinguished according to the sign of the cosmological constant and whether the vector field constructed as a…
Supersymmetric solutions of supergravity theories, and consequently metrics with special holonomy, have played an important role in the development of string theory. We describe how a Lorentzian manifold is either completely reducible, and…
While general relativity provides a complete geometric theory of gravity, it fails to explain the other three forces of nature, i.e., electromagnetism and weak and strong interactions. We require the quantum field theory (QFT) to explain…
The purpose of this article is to review some recent results on the geometry of neutral signature metrics in dimension four and their twistor spaces. The following topics are considered: Neutral K\"ahler and hyperk\"ahler surfaces, Walker…
We present four-dimensional M-theory vacua with N>0 supersymmetry which, from the perspective of perturbative Type IIA string theory, have N=0. Such vacua can appear when the compactifying 7-manifold is a U(1) fibration. The missing…
We determine the geometry of supersymmetric heterotic string backgrounds for which all parallel spinors with respect to the connection $\hat\nabla$ with torsion $H$, the NS$\otimes$NS three-form field strength, are Killing. We find that…
Spaces equipped with two complementary (distinct) congruences of self-dual null strings and at least one congruence of anti-self-dual null strings are considered. It is shown that if such spaces are Einsteinian then the vacuum Einstein…
A spinorial approach to 6-dimensional differential geometry is constructed and used to analyze tensor fields of low rank, with special attention to the Weyl tensor. We perform a study similar to the 4-dimensional case, making full use of…
We perform a generalization of the geometrical approach to describing extended objects for studying the doubly supersymmetric twistor--like formulation of super--p--branes. Some basic features of embedding world supersurface into target…
In this paper we examine different aspects of the geometry of closed conformal vector fields on Riemannian manifolds. We begin by getting obstructions to the existence of closed conformal and nonparallel vector fields on complete manifolds…
Almost paracontact almost paracomplex Riemannian manifolds of the lowest dimension are studied. Such structures are constructed on hyperspheres in 4-dimensional spaces, Euclidean and pseudo-Euclidean, respectively. The obtained manifolds…
This articles is devoted to a description of the second-order differential geometry of torsion-free almost quaternionic skew-Hermitian manifolds, that is, of quaternionic skew-Hermitian manifolds $(M, Q, \omega)$. We provide a curvature…
We study string theory on a non-singular time-dependent orbifold of flat space, known as the `null-brane'. The orbifold group, which involves only space-like identifications, is obtained by a combined action of a null Lorentz transformation…
We develop a spinorial description of CR structures of arbitrary codimension. More precisely, we characterize almost CR structures of arbitrary codimension on (Riemannian) manifolds by the existence of a Spin$^{c, r}$ structure carrying a…
We introduce various versions of spin structures on free loop spaces of smooth manifolds, based on a classical notion due to Killingback, and additionally coupled to two relations between loops: thin homotopies and loop fusion. The central…