Related papers: Introductory Lectures on Extended Supergravities a…
We use the embedding tensor method to construct the most general maximal gauged/massive supergravity in d=9 dimensions and to determine its extended field content. Only the 8 independent deformation parameters (embedding tensor components,…
Tensor-scalar theories of gravitation are commonly employed as extensions of General Relativity that allow to describe a much wider phenomenology. They are also naturally generated as low energy limit of higher-dimensional or unified…
In an Euclidean SU(2) $\otimes$ U(1) gauge theory without fermions, we identify scalar-field variables, functionals of the gauge fields and coming in different representations of isospin, which (i) are of mass dimension one in $d=4$, (ii)…
This thesis is devoted to various questions connected with duality. It is composed of two parts. The first part discusses some aspects of timelike T-duality. We explore the possibility of compactification of supergravity theories with…
In this thesis the recently developed duality covariant approach to string and M-theory is investigated. In this formalism the U-duality symmetry of M-theory or T-duality symmetry of Type II string theory becomes manifest upon extending…
E. Noether's general analysis of conservation laws has to be completed in a Lagrangian theory with local gauge invariance. Bulk charges are replaced by fluxes of superpotentials. Gauge invariant bulk charges may subsist when distinguished…
We consider generalized diffeomorphisms on an extended mega-space associated to the U-duality group of gauged maximal supergravity in four dimensions, E_7. Through the bein for the extended metric we derive dynamical (field-dependent)…
Effective field theory provides a way of parameterizing strong-field deviations from General Relativity that might be observable in the gravitational waves emitted in a black hole merger. To perform numerical simulations of mergers in such…
Field Theory on Event Symmetric space-time is constructed using the gauge group of discrete open strings. Models with invariant actions can be viewed as natural extensions of Matrix Models. The objective is to find a fundamental…
The gauging of isometries in general sigma-models which include fermionic terms which represent the interaction of strings with background Yang-Mills fields is considered. Gauging is possible only if certain obstructions are absent. The…
We construct exact cosmological scaling solutions in N=8 gauged supergravity. We restrict to solutions for which the scalar fields trace out geodesic curves on the scalar manifold. Under these restrictions it is shown that the axionic…
We present a short overview of the structure and couplings of supergravity theories at the component level. We do so with as little technical machinery as possible, working directly with the physical on-shell fields and using explicit…
We propose a generalisation of the Weak Gravity Conjecture in the presence of scalar fields. The proposal is guided by properties of extremal black holes in ${\cal N}=2$ supergravity, but can be understood more generally in terms of…
Constraints on the required flatness of the scalar potential $V(\phi)$ for a cousin-model to extended inflation are studied. It is shown that, unlike earlier results, Induced-gravity Inflation can lead to successful inflation with a very…
We examine the first-order Einstein-Cartan (EC) action in 2+1 dimensions, including a cosmological term and its supersymmetric extension. In this setting the spin connection can be expressed as an axial vector, yielding an action that is…
Effective superpotentials obtained by integrating out matter in super Yang-Mills and conformal supergravity backgrounds in N=1 SUSY theories are considered. The pure gauge and supergravity contributions (generalizing Veneziano-Yankielowicz…
We discuss a simple procedure for finding vacua of gauged supergravity models, based on the variation of the embedding tensor rather than on a direct minimization of the scalar potential. We apply this procedure to N=8 gauged supergravity…
A broad class of contour gauges is shown to be determined by admissible contractions of the geometrical region considered and a suitable equivalence class of curves is defined. In the special case of magnetostatics, the relevant…
Future measurements of primordial non-Gaussianity can reveal cosmologically produced particles with masses of order the inflationary Hubble scale and their interactions with the inflaton, giving us crucial insights into the structure of…
A short introduction to N = 1 supergravity in four dimensions in the superspace approach is given emphasising on all steps to obtain the final Lagrangian. In particular starting from geometrical principles and the introduction of…