Related papers: The Sigma-Model Representation for the Duality-Sym…
Fields in supersymmetric gauge theories may be seen as elements in a spinorial cohomology. We elaborate on this subject, specialising to maximally supersymmetric theories, where the superspace Bianchi identities, after suitable conventional…
We discuss the r\^ole of enlarged superspaces in two seemingly different contexts, the structure of the $p$-brane actions and that of the Cremmer-Julia-Scherk eleven-dimensional supergravity. Both provide examples of a common principle: the…
We construct supergravity solutions dual to twisted field theories that are the worldvolume theories of D4-branes wrapped on 2, 3-cycles, and NS-fivebranes on 3-cycles. We first obtain the solutions for the Romans' six-dimensional gauged…
This thesis is divided in two parts. The first part contains the study of some properties of the electromagnetic duality in 4 dimensions. An extended double potential formalism for linearized gravity is introduced which allows to write an…
Strong/weak coupling duality in Chern-Simons supergravity is studied. It is argued that this duality can be regarded as an example of superduality. The use of supergroup techniques for the description of Chern-Simons supergravity greatly…
The Supersymmetric Dual Sigma Model (SDSM) is a local field theory introduced to be nonlocally equivalent to the Supersymmetric Chiral nonlinear sigma-Model (SCM), this dual equivalence being proven by explicit canonical transformation in…
We report on the gauged supergravity interpretation of certain compactifications of superstring theories with p-form fluxes turned on. We discuss in particular the interplay of duality symmetries in type IIB orientifolds and gauged…
11D pure spinors have been shown to successfully describe 11D supergravity in a manifestly super-Poincar\'e covariant manner. The feasibility of its actual usage for scattering amplitude computations requires an efficient manipulation of…
The superspace formulation of eleven-dimensional supergravity with a seven-form field strength is given.
Models of 4D $\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity coupled to chiral multiplets with vanishing or positive scalar potential have been denoted as no-scale. Of particular interest in the context of string theory are models which additionally possess a…
We suggest a supergravity dual for the $(1,0)$ superconformal field theory in six dimensions which has $E_8$ global symmetry. Compared to the description of the (2,0) field theory, the 4-sphere is replaced by a 4-hemisphere, or by…
We classify symmetric backgrounds of eleven-dimensional supergravity up to local isometry. In other words, we classify triples (M,g,F), where (M,g) is an eleven-dimensional lorentzian locally symmetric space and F is an invariant 4-form,…
The first-order formulation of the G/K symmetric space sigma model of the scalar cosets of the supergravity theories is discussed when there is coupling of (m-1)-form matter fields. The Lie superalgebra which enables the dualized coset…
The Hodge dual operator, recently introduced for supermanifolds, is used to reformulate super Yang-Mills and supergravity in $D=4$. We first recall the definition of the Hodge dual operator for flat and curved supermanifolds. Then we show…
We construct the supergravity solution in 11 dimensions describing D6-branes wrapped around a Kahler four-cycle with a B-field along the flat directions of the brane. The configuration is dual to an N=2 noncommutative gauge theory in 2+1…
We review the construction of free gauge theories for gauge fields in arbitrary representations of the Lorentz group in $D$ dimensions. We describe the multi-form calculus which gives the natural geometric framework for these theories. We…
Double Field Theory (DFT) is a low-energy effective theory of a manifestly $O(D,D)$ invariant formulation of the closed string theory when toroidally compactified dimensions are present. The theory is based on a doubled spacetime structure…
Double Field Theory (DFT) is a proposal to incorporate T-duality, a distinctive symmetry of string theory, as a symmetry of a field theory defined on a double configuration space. The aim of this review is to provide a pedagogical…
We propose a holographic duality between a 2 dimensional (2d) chiral superconformal field theory and a certain theory of supergravity in 3d with flatspace boundary conditions that is obtained as a double scaling limit of a parity breaking…
This Ph.D. thesis was submitted to the Catholic University of Leuven. We discuss two main topics: various formulations of duality-symmetric theories and D=5 supergravity (both construction and supersymmetric solutions). The thesis is…