Gauge Charges from Supergravity

Some recent results in the study of four dimensional supergravity flux compactifications are reviewed, discussing in particular the role of torsion on the compactification manifold in generating gauge charges for the effective four dimensional theories.Comment: Contribution to the 43rd International School of Subnuclear Physics, Erice, Sicily, Italy, Aug. 200

U(N) Gauged N=2 Supergravity and Partial Breaking of Local N=2 Supersymmetry

We study a minimal model of U(N) gauged N=2 supergravity with one hypermultiplet parametrizing SO(4,1)/SO(4) quaternionic manifold. Local N=2 supersymmetry is known to be spontaneously broken to N=1 in the Higgs phase of U(1)_{graviphoton} \times U(1). Several properties are obtained of this model in the vacuum of unbroken SU(N) gauge group. In particular, we derive mass spectrum analogous to the rigid counterpart and put the entire effective potential on this vacuum in the standard superpotential form of N=1 supergravity.Comment: 22 pages, a version to appear Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Extremal Black Holes in Supergravity and the Bekenstein-Hawking Entropy

We review some results on the connection among supergravity central charges, BPS states and Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. In particular, N=2 supergravity in four dimensions is studied in detail. For higher N supergravities we just give an account of the general theory specializing the discussion to the N=8 case when one half of supersymmetry is preserved. We stress the fact that for extremal supergravity black holes the entropy formula is topological, that is the entropy turns out to be a moduli independent quantity and can be written in terms of invariants of the duality group of the supergravity theory.Comment: LaTeX, 65 pages. Contribution to the journal ``Entropy'', ISSN 1099-430

Central Extension of Extended Supergravities in Diverse Dimensions

We generalize central-charge relations and differential identities of N=2 Special Geometry to N extended supergravity in any dimension 4 \leq D <10, and p-extended objects. We study the extremization of the ADM mass per unit of p-volume of BPS extended objects. Runaway solutions for a ``dilaton'' degree of freedom leading to a vanishing result are interpreted as BPS extremal states having vanishing Bekenstein-Hawking Entropy.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX, no figures. This is the last version which will appear in International Journal of Modern Physics

U-Duality and Central Charges in Various Dimensions Revisited

A geometric formulation which describes extended supergravities in any dimension in presence of electric and magnetic sources is presented. In this framework the underlying duality symmetries of the theories are manifest. Particular emphasis is given to the construction of central and matter charges and to the symplectic structure of all D=4, N-extended theories. The latter may be traced back to the existence, for N>2, of a flat symplectic bundle which is the N>2 generalization of N=2 Special Geometry.Comment: Misprints corrected and some relations added in six dimensional non-chiral theorie

Consistent reduction of N=2 -> N=1 four dimensional supergravity coupled to matter

We analyze the constraints which follow both on the geometry and on the gauge sector for a consistent supergravity reduction of a general matter-coupled N=2 supergravity theory in four dimensions. These constraints can be derived in an elegant way by looking at the fermionic sector of the theory.Comment: LaTeX, 16 page

The minimal N=4 no-scale model from generalized dimensional reduction

We consider the generalized dimensional reduction of pure ungauged N=4, D=5 supergravity, where supersymmetry is spontaneously broken to N=2 or N=0 with identically vanishing scalar potential. We explicitly construct the resulting gauged D=4 theory coupled to a single vector multiplet, which provides the minimal N=4 realization of a no-scale model. We discuss its relation with the standard classification of N=4 gaugings, extensions to non-compact twists and to higher dimensions, the N=2 theories obtained via consistent Z_2 orbifold projections and prospects for further generalizations.Comment: 1+28 pages, no figures, JHEP3 LaTeX, published versio

Generalized dimensional reduction of supergravity with eight supercharges

We describe some recent investigation about the structure of generic D=4,5 theories obtained by generalized dimensional reduction of D=5,6 theories with eight supercharges. We relate the Scherk-Schwarz reduction to a special class of N=2 no-scale gauged supergravities.Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of ``NathFest'' at PASCOS conference, Northeastern University, Boston, Ma, August 200

Supergravities in diverse dimensions and their central extension

In this lecture moduli dependent charges for p-extended objects are analyzed for generic N-extended supergravities in dimensions 4 \leq D <10. Differential relations and sum rules among the charges are derived.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX; Talk given at the WorkShop on Gauge Theories, Applied Supersymmetry and Quantum Gravity, London, 5-10 July 199

Unconventional Supersymmetry at the Boundary of AdS_4 Supergravity

In this paper we perform, in the spirit of the holographic correspondence, a particular asymptotic limit of N=2, AdS_4 supergravity to N=2 supergravity on a locally AdS_3 boundary. Our boundary theory enjoys OSp(2|2) x SO(1,2) invariance and is shown to contain the D=3 super-Chern Simons OSp(2|2) theory considered in [Alvarez:2011gd] and featuring "unconventional local supersymmetry". The model constructed in that reference describes the dynamics of a spin-1/2 Dirac field in the absence of spin 3/2 gravitini and was shown to be relevant for the description of graphene, near the Dirac points, for specific spatial geometries. Our construction yields the model in [Alvarez:2011gd] with a specific prescription on the parameters. In this framework the Dirac spin-1/2 fermion originates from the radial components of the gravitini in D=4.Comment: 23 page