A Quasiperiodic Gibbons--Hawking Metric and Spacetime Foam

We present a quasiperiodic self-dual metric of the Gibbons--Hawking type with one gravitational instanton per spacetime cell. The solution, based on an adaptation of Weierstrassian $\zeta$ and $\sigma$ functions to three dimensions, conforms to a definition of spacetime foam given by Hawking.Comment: 14 pages, Late

Solutions in Self-Dual Gravity Constructed Via Chiral Equations

The chiral model for self-dual gravity given by Husain in the context of the chiral equations approach is discussed. A Lie algebra corresponding to a finite dimensional subgroup of the group of symplectic diffeomorphisms is found, and then use for expanding the Lie algebra valued connections associated with the chiral model. The self-dual metric can be explicitly given in terms of harmonic maps and in terms of a basis of this subalgebra.Comment: Plain Latex, 13 Pages, major revisions of style in the above proof, several Comments added. Version to appear in Physical Review

The gravity dual of supersymmetric gauge theories on a two-parameter deformed three-sphere

We present rigid supersymmetric backgrounds for three-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories, comprising a two-parameter U(1)xU(1)-invariant deformed three-sphere, and their gravity duals. These are described by supersymmetric solutions of four-dimensional N=2 gauged supergravity with a self-dual metric on the ball and different instantons for the graviphoton field. We find two types of solutions, distinguished by their holographic free energies. In one type the holographic free energy is constant, whereas in another type it depends in a simple way on the parameters and is generically complex. This leads to a conjecture for the localized partition function of a class of N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories on these backgrounds.Comment: 27 pages, 1 figure; v2: typos fixed, minor changes, one reference adde

Non-Abelian pp-waves in D=4 supergravity theories

The non-Abelian plane waves, first found in flat spacetime by Coleman and subsequently generalized to give pp-waves in Einstein-Yang-Mills theory, are shown to be 1/2 supersymmetric solutions of a wide variety of N=1 supergravity theories coupled to scalar and vector multiplets, including the theory of SU(2) Yang-Mills coupled to an axion \sigma and dilaton \phi recently obtained as the reduction to four-dimensions of the six-dimensional Salam-Sezgin model. In this latter case they provide the most general supersymmetric solution. Passing to the Riemannian formulation of this theory we show that the most general supersymmetric solution may be constructed starting from a self-dual Yang-Mills connection on a self-dual metric and solving a Poisson equation for e^\phi. We also present the generalization of these solutions to non-Abelian AdS pp-waves which allow a negative cosmological constant and preserve 1/4 of supersymmetry.Comment: Latex, 1+12 page

The Indefinite Self-Dual Metrics and Painleve Equations

We classify the SU(2)-invariant anti-self-dual metrics with a signature (+,+,-,-). The metrics are specified by a solution of Painleve VI, V, III or II. Moreover we show the geometric meaning of the metrics specified by each type of Painlev\'e functions.Comment: 12 pages, AMS-LaTeX V1.