Boundaries of 11-Dimensional Membranes

The action for an 11-dimensional supermembrane contains a chiral Wess-Zumino-Witten model coupling to the E8 super-Yang-Mills theory on the end-of-the-world 9-brane. It is demonstrated that this boundary string theory is dictated both by gauge invariance and by kappa-symmetry.Comment: plain tex, 6p

From supergeometry to pure spinors

In this talk, we review how the superspace formulation of maximally supersymmetric field theories (including supergravity) naturally leads to introduction of pure spinors and pure spinor superfields, and why the formalism provides off-shell formulations. This approach to pure spinor superfields thus stresses field-theoretic aspects rather than the first-quantised ones normally used e.g. in superstring theory. We discuss how the BRST operator arises and the principles behind constructions of actions, as well as the general Batalin-Vilkovisky framework. D=11 supergravity and its recently constructed supersymmetric action are taken as an example throughout the talk. This is the written version of a lecture given at the 6th Mathematical Physics Meeting, Belgrade, September 2010.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure

An off-shell superspace reformulation of D=4, N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory

D=4, N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory has an off-shell superspace formulation in terms of pure spinor superfields, which is directly inherited from the D=10 theory. That superspace, in particular the choice of pure spinor variables, is less suitable for dealing with fields that are inherently 4-dimensional, such as the superfields based on the scalars, which are gauge-covariant, and traces of powers of scalars, which are gauge-invariant. We give a reformulation of D=4, N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory in N=4 superspace, using inherently 4-dimensional pure spinors. All local degrees of freedom reside in a superfield based on the physical scalars. The formalism should be suited for calculations of correlators of traces of scalar superfields.Comment: 13 p

Pure spinor superspace action for D=6, N=1 super-Yang-Mills theory

A Batalin-Vilkovisky action for D=6, N=1 super-Yang--Mills theory, including coupling to hypermultiplets, is given. The formalism involves pure spinor superfields. The geometric properties of the D=6, N=1 pure spinors (which differ from Cartan pure spinors) are examined. Unlike the situation for maximally supersymmetric models, the fields and antifields (including ghosts) of the vector multiplet reside in separate superfields. The formalism provides an off-shell superspace formulation for matter hypermultiplets, which in a traditional treatment are on-shell.Comment: 16 p

Thoughts on Membranes, Matrices and Non-Commutativity

We review the passage from the supermembrane to matrix theory via a consistent truncation following a non-commutative deformation in light-cone gauge. Some indications are given that there should exist a generalisation of non-commutativity involving a three-index theta on the membrane, and we discuss some possible ways of investigating the corresponding algebraic structure.Comment: 11 pp, plain tex. Invited talk presented at the conference ``Non-Commutative Geometry and Representation Theory in Mathematical Physics'', Karlstad, Sweden, July 5-10, 200

Superfield actions for N=8 and N=6 conformal theories in three dimensions

The manifestly supersymmetric pure spinor formulations of the Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson models with N=8 supersymmetry and the Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena models with N=6 supersymmetry are given. The structures of the pure spinors are investigated in both cases, and non-degenerate measures are formed using non-minimal sets of variables, allowing for the formulation of an action principle.Comment: 12 pp., plain tex. v2: references added, typos in eqs. 14 and 15 corrected. v3: refs. adde

Twistors and supertwistors for exceptional field theory

As a means of examining the section condition and its possible solutions and relaxations, we perform twistor transforms related to versions of exceptional field theory with Minkowski signature. The spinor parametrisation of the momenta naturally solves simultaneously both the mass-shell condition and the (weak) section condition. It is shown that the incidence relations for multi-particle twistors force them to share a common section, but not to be orthogonal. The supersymmetric extension contains additional scalar fermionic variables shown to be kappa-symmetry invariants. We speculate on some implications, among them a possible relation to higher spin theory.Comment: 14 pp. v2: minor change

Non-gravitational exceptional supermultiplets

We examine non-gravitational minimal supermultiplets which are based on the tensor gauge fields appearing as matter fields in exceptional generalised geometry. When possible, off-shell multiplets are given. The fields in the multiplets describe non-gravitational parts of the internal dynamics of compactifications of M-theory. In flat backgrounds, they enjoy a global U-duality symmetry, but also provide multiplets with a possibility of coupling to a generalised exceptional geometry.Comment: 11 pp., plain te

A Note on the Relation between Different Forms of Superparticle Dynamics'

A formulation of D\is 10 superparticle dynamics is given that contain space-time and twistor variables. The set of constraints is entirely first class, and gauge conditions may be imposed that reduces the system to a Casalbuoni-Brink-Schwarz superparticle, a spinning particle or a twistor particle.Comment: Goeteborg-ITP-93-33. 3 pages. Phyzzx macropackage neede

World-volume fields and background coupling of branes

This is the written version of an invited talk delivered at the workshop ``Quantum gravity in the Southern Cone'' held in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, January 7-10, 1998. After giving a brief introduction to the concept of branes and their role in string theory, this talk describes a method for formulating the dynamics of branes, especially those containing non-scalar moduli. Emphasis is put on the coupling of branes to fields in the low-energy background supergravity theories, and on preservation of maximal amount of manifest symmetry. Due to the nature of the workshop, the presentation is aimed at physicists who are not experts in string theory.Comment: 12 pp, plain tex, talk presented at the workshop ``Quantum gravity in the Southern Cone'' held in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, January 7-10, 199