Related papers: $L_\infty$-Algebras, the BV Formalism, and Classic…
We use the Chern-Simons formulation of higher spin theories in three dimensions to study aspects of holographic W-gravity. Concepts which were useful in studies of pure bulk gravity theories, such as the Fefferman-Graham gauge and the…
We lift the recently proposed theories of higher-spin self-dual Yang-Mills (SDYM) and gravity (SDGR) to the twistor space. We find that the most natural room for the twistor formulation of these theories is not in the projective, but in the…
We present the most general gauge-invariant action functional for coupled 1- and 2-form gauge fields with kinetic terms in generic dimensions, i.e. dropping eventual contributions that can be added in particular space-time dimensions only…
We apply the BV formalism to non-commutative field theories, introduce BRST symmetry, and gauge-fix the models. Interestingly, we find that treating the full gauge symmetry in non-commutative models can lead to reducible gauge algebras. As…
We study the mixed topological / holomorphic Chern-Simons theory of Costello, Witten and Yamazaki on an orbifold $(\Sigma\times{\mathbb C})/{\mathbb Z}_2$, obtaining a description of lattice integrable systems in the presence of a boundary.…
In this PhD thesis we extend the twistor formalism to encompass (partially) off-shell quantities. We describe all gauge-invariant local composite operators in twistor space and show that they immediately generate all tree-level form factors…
Starting with minimal requirements from the physical experience with higher gauge theories, i.e. gauge theories for a tower of differential forms of different form degrees, we discover that all the structural identities governing such…
There exist many four dimensional integrable theories. They include self-dual gauge and gravity theories, all their extended supersymmetric generalisations, as well the full (non-self-dual) N=3 super Yang-Mills equations. We review the…
Using the general notions of Batalin, Fradkin, Fradkina and Tyutin to convert second class systems into first class ones, we present a gauge invariant formulation of the massive Yang-Mills theory by embedding it in an extended phase space.…
We reformulate chiral higher-spin Yang-Mills and gravity on $\mathbb{R}^4$ as 'CR-holomorphic' theories of Chern-Simons type; in the most general case, these are Moyal deformed to become non-commutative. They are defined on the space of…
In four spacetime dimensions, the classically integrable self-dual sectors of gauge theory and gravity have associated chiral algebras, which emerge naturally from their description in twistor space. We show that there are similar chiral…
The Lagrangian Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formalism gives the rules for the quantisation of a general class of gauge theories which contain all the theories known up to now. It does, however, not only give a recipe to obtain a gauge fixed…
We introduce a notion of left homotopy for Maurer--Cartan elements in $L_{\infty}$-algebras and $A_{\infty}$-algebras, and show that it corresponds to gauge equivalence in the differential graded case. From this we deduce a short formula…
We consider finite deformations of the Hull--Strominger system. Starting from the heterotic superpotential, we identify complex coordinates on the off-shell parameter space. Expanding the superpotential around a supersymmetric vacuum leads…
We present a formulation of the maximally supersymmetric N=4 gauge theory in Lorentz harmonic chiral (LHC) superspace. It is closely related to the twistor formulation of the theory but employs the simpler notion of Lorentz harmonic…
Cohomological techniques within the Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) extension of the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) formalism have proved invaluable for classifying consistent deformations of gauge theories. In this work we investigate the…
We investigate a class of Leibniz algebroids which are invariant under diffeomorphisms and symmetries involving collections of closed forms. Under appropriate assumptions we arrive at a classification which in particular gives a…
We introduce a notion of topological M-theory and argue that it provides a unification of form theories of gravity in various dimensions. Its classical solutions involve G_2 holonomy metrics on 7-manifolds, obtained from a topological…
The Deligne-Getzler-Hinich--$\infty$-groupoid or Maurer-Cartan simplicial set of an $L_\infty$-algebra plays an important role in deformation theory and many other areas of mathematics. Unfortunately, this construction only works over a…
We show that 4D gauge theories with Green-Schwarz anomaly cancellation and possible generalized Chern-Simons terms admit a formulation that is manifestly covariant with respect to electric/magnetic duality transformations. This generalizes…