Related papers: String vacuum backgrounds with covariantly constan…
Rigidly superconformal sigma models in higher than two dimensions are constructed. These models rely on the existence of conformal Killing spinors on the $p+1$ dimensional worldvolume $(p\le 5)$, and homothetic conformal Killing vectors in…
We classify all supersymmetric solutions of minimal D=4 gauged supergravity with (2,2) signature and a positive cosmological constant which admit exactly one Killing spinor. This classification produces a geometric structure which is more…
In these lectures we report recent work on the exact quantization of dimensionally reduced gravity, i.e. 2d non-linear (G/H)-coset space sigma-models coupled to gravity and a dilaton. Using methods developed in the context of flat space…
We present a number of D=4 bosonic and heterotic string solutions with a covariantly constant null Killing vector which, like the solution of Nappi and Witten (NW), correspond to (gauged) WZW models and thus have a direct conformal field…
We investigate $2d$ sigma-models with a $2+N$ dimensional Minkowski signature target space metric and Killing symmetry, specifically supersymmetrized, and see under which conditions they might lead to corresponding exact string vacua. It…
N-particle quantum mechanics described by a sigma model with an N-dimensional target space with torsion is considered. It is shown that an SL(2,R) conformal symmetry exists if and only if the geometry admits a homothetic Killing vector…
We show that a four-parameter generating solution for a general class of four-dimensional, spherically-symmetric, static, dyonic BPS saturated solutions of leading-order effective equations of toroidally compactified heterotic or type II…
We introduce the concept of bi-conformal transformation, as a generalization of conformal ones, by allowing two orthogonal parts of a manifold with metric $\G$ to be scaled by different conformal factors. In particular, we study their…
We present a new approach to the intrinsic properties of the type D vacuum solutions based on the invariant symmetries that these spacetimes admit. By using tensorial formalism and without explicitly integrating the field equations, we…
We consider an extension of a special class of conformal sigma models (`chiral null models') which describe extreme supersymmetric string solutions. The new models contain both `left' and `right' vector couplings and should correspond to…
We examine the question of scale versus conformal invariance on maximally symmetric curved backgrounds and study general 2-derivative conformally invariant free theories of vectors and tensors. For spacetime dimension $D>4$, these conformal…
We consider conformal and scale-invariant gravities in d dimensions, with a special focus on pure $R^2$ gravity in the scale-invariant case. In four dimensions, the structure of these theories is well known. However, in dimensions larger…
For vacuum Maxwell theory in four dimensions, a supplementary condition exists (due to Eastwood and Singer) which is invariant under conformal rescalings of the metric, in agreement with the conformal symmetry of the Maxwell equations.…
We consider the conformal group of a space of dim n=p+q, with SO(p,q) metric. The quotient of this group by its homogeneous Weyl subgroup gives a principal fiber bundle with 2n-dim base manifold and Weyl fibers. The Cartan generalization to…
The configuration space of general relativity is superspace - the space of all Riemannian 3-metrics modulo diffeomorphisms. However, it has been argued that the configuration space for gravity should be conformal superspace - the space of…
Consistent reductions of higher-dimensional (matter-coupled) gravity theories on spheres have been constructed and classified in an important paper by Cveti\v{c}, L\"u and Pope. We close a gap in the classification and study the case when…
Tractor Calculus is a powerful tool for analyzing Weyl invariance; although fundamentally linked to the Cartan connection, it may also be arrived at geometrically by viewing a conformal manifold as the space of null rays in a Lorentzian…
We consider a D-dimensional model of gravity with non-linear "scalar fields" as a matter source. The model is defined on the product manifold M, which contains n Einstein factor spaces. General cosmological type solutions to the field…
Starting with a subclass of the four-dimensional spaces possessing two commuting Killing vectors and a non-trivial Killing tensor, we fully integrate Einstein's vacuum equation with a cosmological constant. Although most of the solutions…
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…