Related papers: On M-Theory
Superstring theory, and a recent extension called M theory, are leading candidates for a quantum theory that unifies gravity with the other forces. As such, they are certainly not ordinary quantum field theories. However, recent duality…
We construct a consistent reduction ansatz of eleven-dimensional supergravity to $N=2$ $SO(4)$ seven-dimensional gauged supergravity with topological mass term for the three-form field. The ansatz is obtained from a truncation of the $S^4$…
We describe a new first-order formulation of D=11 supergravity which shows that that theory can be understood to arise from a certain topological field theory by the imposition of a set of local constraints on the fields, plus a lagrange…
Recent progress towards understanding a strong coupling expansion for various superconformal field theories in four dimensions is described. First, the case of the maximally supersymmetric Yang Mills theory is analyzed, as well as many…
In this work we use constructs from the dual space of the semi-direct product of the Virasoro algebra and the affine Lie algebra of a circle to write a theory of gravitation which is a natural analogue of Yang-Mills theory. The theory…
We construct M-theory on the orbifold C^2/Z_N by coupling 11-dimensional supergravity to a seven-dimensional Yang-Mills theory located on the orbifold fixed plane. It is shown that the resulting action is supersymmetric to leading…
I study the spontaneous breakdown of supersymmetry when higher-dimensional Yang-Mills or the type-I $SO(32)$ string theory are compactified on magnetized tori. Because of the universal gyromagnetic ratio $g=2$, the splittings of all…
The quest for unification of particles and fields and for reconciliation of Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity has led us to gauge theories, string theories, supersymmetry and higher-extended objects: membranes... Our spacetime is…
The R^4-type corrections to ten and eleven dimensional supergravity required by string and M-theory imply corrections to supersymmetric supergravity compactifications on manifolds of special holonomy, which deform the metric away from the…
AdS/CFT-correspondence establishes a relationship between supersymmetric gravity (SUGRA) on Anti-de-Sitter (AdS) space and supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) theory which is conformaly invariant (CFT). The AdS space is the solution of the…
Maximally supersymmetric theories do not allow off-shell superspace formulations with traditional superfields containing a finite set of auxiliary fields. It has become clear that off-shell supersymmetric action formulations of such models…
We study deformations of ${\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with couplings and masses depending on space-time. The conditions to preserve part of the supersymmetry are derived and a lot of solutions of these conditions are found.…
Quantum gravity in AdS$_7 \times$S$^4$ is dual to a 6d superconformal field theory, known as the 6d $(2,0)$ theory, which is very challenging to describe because it lacks a conventional Lagrangian description. On the other hand, certain…
We briefly review the general structure of integrable particle theories in 1+1 dimensions having N=1 supersymmetry. Examples are specific perturbed superconformal field theories (of Yang-Lee type) and the N=1 supersymmetric sine-Gordon…
We study correlation functions in (0+1)-dimensional maximally supersymmetric U(N) Yang-Mills theory, which was proposed by Banks et al. as a non-perturbative definition of 11-dimensional M-theory in the infinite-momentum frame. We perform…
These lectures begin by reviewing the evidence for S duality of the toroidally compactified heterotic string in 4d that was obtained in the period 1992--94. Next they review recently discovered dualities that relate all five of the 10d…
The reduction of ten-dimensional heterotic supergravity with Yang-Mills symmetry group K is performed on an arbitrary n-dimensional group manifold G. The reduction involves a nonvanishing 3-form flux, and the Lie algebra of G must have…
We construct supergravity theories in twelve and thirteen dimensions with the respective signatures (10,2) and (11,2) with some technical details. Starting with N=1 supergravity in 10+2 dimensions coupled to Green-Schwarz superstring, we…
This thesis is devoted to various aspects of electric-magnetic duality and its gravitational generalization, with an emphasis on the case of maximal supergravity. It is divided into three parts. In the first part, we review the the…
In this dissertation, we study the generalized symmetries in supergravities and superconformal field theories from the string theory perspective. Part one is devoted to the study of string universality in high spacetime dimensions.…