AdS4 black holes from M-theory

We consider the BPS conditions of eleven dimensional supergravity, restricted to an appropriate ansatz for black holes in four non-compact directions. Assuming the internal directions to be described by a circle fibration over a K\"ahler manifold and considering the case where the complex structure moduli are frozen, we recast the resulting flow equations in terms of polyforms on this manifold. The result is a set of equations that are in direct correspondence with those of gauged supergravity models in four dimensions consistent with our simplifying assumptions. In view of this correspondence even for internal manifolds that do not correspond to known consistent truncations, we comment on the possibility of obtaining gauged supergravities from reductions on K\"ahler manifolds.Comment: 32 pages, v2: references addes, typos correcte

non-BPS walls of marginal stability

We explore the properties of non-BPS multi-centre extremal black holes in ungauged N=2 supergravity coupled to n_v vector multiplets, as described by solutions to the composite non-BPS linear system. After setting up an explicit description that allows for arbitrary non-BPS charges to be realised at each centre, we study the structure of the resulting solutions. Using these results, we prove that the binding energy of the composite is always positive and we show explicitly the existence of walls of marginal stability for generic choices of charges. The two-centre solutions only exist on a hypersurface of dimension n_v+1 in moduli space, with an n_v-dimensional boundary, where the distance between the centres diverges and the binding energy vanishes.Comment: 54 pages, 1 figur

A bubbling bolt

We present a new solvable system, solving the equations of five-dimensional ungauged N=1 supergravity coupled to vector multiplets, that allows for non-extremal solutions and reduces to a known system when restricted to the floating brane Ansatz. A two-centre globally hyperbolic smooth geometry is obtained as a solution to this system, describing a bubble linking a Gibbons--Hawking centre to a charged bolt. However this solution turns out to violate the BPS bound, and we show that its generalisation to an arbitrary number of Gibbons--Hawking centres never admits a spin structure.Comment: 36 page

N=2 higher-derivative couplings from strings

We consider the Calabi-Yau reduction of the Type IIA eight derivative one-loop stringy corrections focusing on the couplings of the four dimensional gravity multiplet with vector multiplets and a tensor multiplet containing the NS two-form. We obtain a variety of higher derivative invariants generalising the one-loop topological string coupling, $F_1$, controlled by the lowest order Kahler potential and two new non-topological quantities built out of the Calabi-Yau Riemann curvature.Comment: 43 page

Ungauging black holes and hidden supercharges

We embed the general solution for non-BPS extremal asymptotically flat static and under-rotating black holes in abelian gauged D=4 N=2 supergravity, in the limit where the scalar potential vanishes but the gauging does not. Using this result, we show explicitly that some supersymmetries are preserved in the near horizon region of all the asymptotically flat solutions above, in the gauged theory. This reveals a deep relation between microscopic entropy counting of extremal black holes in Minkowski and BPS black holes in AdS. Finally, we discuss the relevance of this construction to the structure of asymptotically AdS4 black holes, as well as the possibility of including hypermultiplets.Comment: 33 pages, 1 figure, v2: Corrections in section 5, comments added, references update

Near-horizon analysis of D=5 BPS black holes and rings

A comprehensive analysis is presented based exclusively on near-horizon data to determine the attractor equations and the entropy of BPS black holes and rings in five space-time dimensions, for a Lagrangian invariant under eight supersymmetries with higher-derivative couplings. For spinning black holes the results only partially agree with the results of previous work, where often additional input was used beyond the near-horizon behaviour. A number of discrepancies remains, for example, pertaining to small black holes and to large spinning black holes, which are related to the presence of the higher-derivative couplings. Arguments are presented to explain some of them. For the black rings, the analysis is intricate due to the presence of Chern-Simons terms and due to the fact that the gauge fields are not globally defined. The contributions from the higher-derivative couplings take a systematic form in line with expectations based on a variety of arguments.Comment: 52 pages, 2 figures, PDFLaTeX, v2: typos corrected, version to appear in JHE

The off-shell c-map

The off-shell version of the c-map is presented, based on a systematic off-shell reduction from four to three space-time dimensions for supergravity theories with eight supercharges. In the reduction, the R-symmetry group is enhanced to local [SU(2) x SU(2)]/Z2 =SO(4) and the c-map is effected by a parity transformation in the internal space that interchanges the two SU(2) factors. Vector and tensor supermultiplets are each others conjugate under the c-map and both can be dualized in three dimensions to (on-shell) hypermultiplets. As shown in this paper the off-shell formulation indeed leads to a clarification of many of the intricate issues that play a role in the c-map. The results for off-shell Lagrangians quadratic in space-time derivatives are analyzed in detail and compared to the literature. The underlying reasons are identified why not all of the four-dimensional tensor multiplet Lagrangians can be in the image of the c-map. The advantage of the off-shell approach is, that it also enables a systematic analysis of theories with higher-derivative couplings. This is demonstrated for a particular subclass of such theories, which, under certain conditions, are consistent under the c-map. In principle, explicit results for realistic four-dimensional type-II string compactifications can be explored in this way.Comment: 57 page

Wilson lines for AdS_5 black strings

We describe a simple method of extending AdS_5 black string solutions of 5d gauged supergravity in a supersymmetric way by addition of Wilson lines along a circular direction in space. When this direction is chosen along the string, and due to the specific form of 5d supergravity that features Chern-Simons terms, the existence of magnetic charges automatically generates conserved electric charges in a 5d analogue of the Witten effect. Therefore we find a rather generic, model-independent way of adding electric charges to already existing solutions with no backreaction from the geometry or breaking of any symmetry. We use this method to explicitly write down more general versions of the Benini-Bobev black strings and comment on the implications for the dual field theory and the similarities with generalizations of the Cacciatori-Klemm black holes in AdS_4.Comment: 13 pages; v2 improved discussion, added reference