M-Fivebrane from the Open Supermembrane

Covariant field equations of M-fivebrane in eleven dimensional curved superspace are obtained from the requirement of kappa-symmetry of an open supermembrane ending on a fivebrane. The worldvolume of the latter is a (6|16) dimensional supermanifold embedded in the (11|32) dimensional target superspace. The kappa-symmetry of the system imposes a constraint on this embedding, and a constraint on a modified super 3-form field strength on the fivebrane worldvolume. These constraints govern the dynamics of the M-fivebrane.Comment: 11 pages, Latex, references and appendix adde

Correlation Functions in ω\omega-Deformed N=6 Supergravity

Gauged N=8 supergravity in four dimensions is now known to admit a deformation characterized by a real parameter $\omega$ lying in the interval $0\le\omega\le \pi/8$. We analyse the fluctuations about its anti-de Sitter vacuum, and show that the full N=8 supersymmetry can be maintained by the boundary conditions only for $\omega=0$. For non-vanishing $\omega$, and requiring that there be no propagating spin s>1 fields on the boundary, we show that N=3 is the maximum degree of supersymmetry that can be preserved by the boundary conditions. We then construct in detail the consistent truncation of the N=8 theory to give $\omega$-deformed SO(6) gauged N=6 supergravity, again with $\omega$ in the range $0\le\omega\le \pi/8$. We show that this theory admits fully N=6 supersymmetry-preserving boundary conditions not only for $\omega=0$, but also for $\omega=\pi/8$. These two theories are related by a U(1) electric-magnetic duality. We observe that the only three-point functions that depend on $\omega$ involve the coupling of an SO(6) gauge field with the U(1) gauge field and a scalar or pseudo-scalar field. We compute these correlation functions and compare them with those of the undeformed N=6 theory. We find that the correlation functions in the $\omega=\pi/8$ theory holographically correspond to amplitudes in the U(N)_k x U(N)_{-k} ABJM model in which the U(1) Noether current is replaced by a dynamical U(1) gauge field. We also show that the $\omega$-deformed N=6 gauged supergravities can be obtained via consistent reductions from the eleven-dimensional or ten-dimensional type IIA supergravities.Comment: 38 pages, one figur

Supersymmetric Higher Spin Theories

We revisit the higher spin extensions of the anti de Sitter algebra in four dimensions that incorporate internal symmetries and admit representations that contain fermions, classified long ago by Konstein and Vasiliev. We construct the $dS_4$, Euclidean and Kleinian version of these algebras, as well as the corresponding fully nonlinear Vasiliev type higher spin theories, in which the reality conditions we impose on the master fields play a crucial role. The ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric higher spin theory in $dS_4$, on which we elaborate further, is included in this class of models. A subset of Konstein-Vasiliev algebras are the higher spin extensions of the $AdS_4$ superalgebras $osp(4|{\cal N})$ for ${\cal N}=1,2,4$ mod 4 and can be realized using fermionic oscillators. We tensor the higher superalgebras of the latter kind with appropriate internal symmetry groups and show that the ${\cal N}=3$ mod 4 higher spin algebras are isomorphic to those with ${\cal N}=4$ mod 4. We describe the fully nonlinear higher spin theories based on these algebras as well, and we elaborate further on the ${\cal N}=6$ supersymmetric theory, providing two equivalent descriptions one of which exhibits manifestly its relation to the ${\cal N}=8$ supersymmetric higher spin theory.Comment: 30 pages. Contribution to J. Phys. A special volume on "Higher Spin Theories and AdS/CFT" edited by M. R. Gaberdiel and M. Vasilie

Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons Supergravity

N=(1,0) supergravity in six dimensions admits AdS_3\times S^3 as a vacuum solution. We extend our recent results presented in hep-th/0212323, by obtaining the complete N=4 Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons supergravity in D=3, up to quartic fermion terms, by S^3 group manifold reduction of the six dimensional theory. The SU(2) gauge fields have Yang-Mills kinetic terms as well as topological Chern-Simons mass terms. There is in addition a triplet of matter vectors. After diagonalisation, these fields describe two triplets of topologically-massive vector fields of opposite helicities. The model also contains six scalars, described by a GL(3,R)/SO(3) sigma model. It provides the first example of a three-dimensional gauged supergravity that can obtained by a consistent reduction of string-theory or M-theory and that admits AdS_3 as a vacuum solution. There are unusual features in the reduction from six-dimensional supergravity, owing to the self-duality condition on the 3-form field. The structure of the full equations of motion in N=(1,0) supergravity in D=6 is also elucidated, and the role of the self-dual field strength as torsion is exhibited.Comment: Latex, 22 pages, hep-th number correcte

Dilatonic p-brane solitons

We find new 4-brane and 5-brane solitons in massive gauged $D=6$, $N=2$ and $D=7$, $N=1$ supergravities. In each case, the solutions preserve half of the original supersymmetry. These solutions make use of the metric and dilaton fields only. We also present more general dilatonic $(D-2)$-branes in $D$ dimensions.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, no figure

The supermembrane revisited

The M2-brane is studied from the perspective of superembeddings. We review the derivation of the M2-brane dynamics and the supergravity constraints from the standard superembedding constraint and we discuss explicitly the induced d=3, N=8 superconformal geometry on the worldvolume. We show that the gauged supermembrane, for a target space with a U(1) isometry, is the standard D2-brane in a type IIA supergravity background. In particular, the D2-brane action, complete with the Dirac-Born-Infeld term, arises from the gauged Wess-Zumino worldvolume 4-form via the brane action principle. The discussion is extended to the massive D2-brane considered as a gauged supermembrane in a massive D=11 superspace background. Type IIA supergeometry is derived using Kaluza-Klein techniques in superspace.Comment: Latex, 46 pages, clarifying remarks and references adde

FRW and domain walls in higher spin gravity

We present exact solutions to Vasiliev's bosonic higher spin gravity equations in four dimensions with positive and negative cosmological constant that admit an interpretation in terms of domain walls, quasi-instantons and Friedman-Robertson-Walker (FRW) backgrounds. Their isometry algebras are infinite dimensional higher-spin extensions of spacetime isometries generated by six Killing vectors. The solutions presented are obtained by using a method of holomorphic factorization in noncommutative twistor space and gauge functions. In interpreting the solutions in terms of Fronsdal-type fields in spacetime, a field-dependent higher spin transformation is required, which is implemented at leading order. To this order, the scalar field solves Klein-Gordon equation with conformal mass in (anti) de Sitter space. We interpret the FRW solution with de Sitter asymptotics in the context of inflationary cosmology and we expect that the domain wall and FRW solutions are associated with spontaneously broken scaling symmetries in their holographic description. We observe that the factorization method provides a convenient framework for setting up a perturbation theory around the exact solutions, and we propose that the nonlinear completion of particle excitations over FRW and domain wall solutions requires black hole-like states.Comment: 63 page

On a Three-Dimensional Gravity Model with Higher Derivatives

The purpose of this work is to present a model for 3D massive gravity with topological and higher-derivative terms. Causality and unitarity are discussed at tree-level. Power-counting renormalizability is also contemplated.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, no figures; to be published in Gen. Rel. Gra