We start from the Maurer-Cartan (MC) equations of the Osp(N|4) superalgebras satisfied by the left-invariant super-forms realized on supercoset manifolds of the corresponding supergroups and we derive some new pure spinor constraints. They are obtained by "ghostifying" the MC forms and extending the differential d to a BRST differential. From the superalgebras G =Osp(N|4) we single out different subalgebras H contained in G associated with the different cosets G/H: each choice of H leads to a different weakening of the pure spinor constraints. In each case, the number of parameter is counted and we show that in the cases of Osp(6|4)/U(3) x SO(1,3), Osp(4|4)/SO(3) x SO(1,3) and finally Osp(4|4) U(2)} x SO(1,3) the bosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom match in order to provide a c=0 superconformal field theory. We construct both the Green-Schwarz and the pure spinor sigma model for the case Osp(6|4)/U(3)x SO(1,3) corresponding to AdS_4 x P^3. The pure spinor sigma model can be consistently quantized.
The spinor representations of the orthosymplectic Lie superalgebras osp(m|n) are considered and constructed. These are infinite-dimensional irreducible representations, of which the superdimension coincides with the dimension of the spinor representation of so(m-n). Next, we consider the self dual tensor representations of osp(m|n) and their generalizations: these are also infinite-dimensional and correspond to the highest irreducible component of the $p^{th}$ power of the spinor representation. We determine the character of these representations, and deduce a superdimension formula. From this…
A geometry of superspace corresponding to double field theory is developed, with type II supergravity in D=10 as the main example. The formalism is based on an orthosymplectic extension OSp(d,d|2s) of the continuous T-duality group. Covariance under generalised super-diffeomorphisms is manifest. Ordinary superspace is obtained as a solution of the orthosymplectic section condition. A systematic study of curved superspace Bianchi identities is performed, and a relation to a double pure spinor superfield cohomology is established. A Ramond-Ramond superfield is constructed as an infinite-dimensio…
In this paper we formulate the pure spinor superstring theory on AdS_4 x CP^3. By recasting the pure spinor action as a topological A-model on the fermionic supercoset Osp(6|4)/SO(6)xSp(4) plus a BRST exact term, we prove the exactness of the sigma-model. We then give a gauged linear sigma-model which reduces to the superstring in the limit of large volume and we study its branch geometry in different phases. Moreover, we discuss possible D-brane boundary conditions and the principal chiral model for the fermionic supercoset.
Our goal is to study the supermembrane on an $AdS_4 \times \cal M_7$ background, where $\cal M_7$ is a 7--dimensional Einstein manifold with $N$ Killing spinors. This is a direct way to derive the $Osp(N|4)$ singleton field theory with all the additional properties inherited from the geometry of the internal manifold. As a first example we consider the maximally supersymmetric $Osp(8|4)$ singleton corresponding to the choice $\cal M_7 = S^7$. We find the explicit form of the action of the membrane coupled to this background geometry and show its invariance under non--linearly realised supercon…
All the BRST-invariant operators in pure spinor formalism in $d=10$ can be represented as BRST commutators, such as $V=\lbrace{Q_{brst}},{θ_{+}\over{λ_{+}}}V\rbrace$ where $λ_{+}$ is the U(5) component of the pure spinor transforming as $1_{5\over2}$. Therefore, in order to secure non-triviality of BRST cohomology in pure spinor string theory, one has to introduce "small Hilbert space" and "small operator algebra" for pure spinors, analogous to those existing in RNS formalism. As any invariant vertex operator in RNS string theory can also represented as a commutator $V=\lbrace{Q_{brst}},LV\rbr…
We study to what extent it is possible to generalise Berkovits' pure-spinor construction in d=10 to lower dimensions. Using a suitable definition of a ``pure'' spinor in d=4,6, we propose models analogous to the d=10 pure-spinor superstring in these dimensions. Similar models in d=2,3 are also briefly discussed.
We explicitly compute up to the fifth mass-level the partition function of ten-dimensional pure spinor worldsheet variables including the spin dependence. After adding the contribution from the (x^μ, θ^α, p_α) matter variables, we reproduce the massive superstring spectrum. Even though pure spinor variables are bosonic, the pure spinor partition function contains fermionic states which first appear at the second mass-level. These fermionic states come from functions which are not globally defined in pure spinor space, and are related to the b ghost in the pure spinor formalism. This result cla…
In this paper we revisit Berkovits' pure spinor formalism in lower dimensions. We are particularly interested in relating a six-dimensional pure spinor action previously constructed in the literature to other superstring formalisms. In order to gain some insight into six-dimensional pure spinors, we first derive their action by gauge-fixing the classical six-dimensional Green-Schwarz action. We then consider a hybrid pure spinor construction in which the spacetime symmetries of six of the ten dimensions are described in pure spinor variables, while the remaining four dimensions are parameteriz…
In this paper we study the pure spinor formulation of the superstring in $AdS_5\times S^5$ around point particle solutions of the classical equations of motion. As a particular example we quantize the pure spinor string in the BMN background.
In a recent paper, the partition function (character) of ten-dimensional pure spinor worldsheet variables was calculated explicitly up to the fifth mass-level. In this letter, we propose a novel application of Pade approximants as a tool for computing the character of pure spinors. We get results up to the twelfth mass-level. This work is a first step towards an explicit construction of the complete pure spinor partition function.
In this lectures we outline the construction of pure spinor superstrings. We consider both the open and closed pure spinor superstrings in critical and noncritical dimensions and on flat and curved target spaces with RR flux. We exhibit the integrability properties of pure spinor superstrings on curved backgrounds with RR fluxes.
The character of holomorphic functions on the space of pure spinors in ten, eleven and twelve dimensions is calculated. From this character formula, we derive in a manifestly covariant way various central charges which appear in the pure spinor formalism for the superstring. We also derive in a simple way the zero momentum cohomology of the pure spinor BRST operator for the D=10 and D=11 superparticle.
In a previous paper, the BRST cohomology in the pure spinor formalism of the superstring was shown to coincide with the light-cone Green-Schwarz spectrum by using an SO(8) parameterization of the pure spinor. In this paper, the SO(9,1) Lorentz generators are explicitly constructed using this SO(8) parameterization, proving the Lorentz invariance of the pure spinor BRST cohomology.
Starting with a classical action where a pure spinor $λ^α$ is only a fundamental and dynamical variable, the pure spinor formalism for superparticle and superstring is derived by following the BRST formalism. In this formalism, not only the string variable $x^m$ but also the space-time spinor $θ^α$ are emerged as the Faddeev-Popov (FP) ghosts of a topological symmetry and its reducible symmetry. This study suggests that the fundamental theory behind the pure spinor formalism of the superstring might be a topological field theory.
The pure spinor formalism for the superstring was recently obtained by gauge-fixing a purely bosonic classical action involving a twistor-like constraint $\partial x^m (γ_mλ)_α=0$ where $λ^α$ is a d=10 pure spinor. This twistor-like constraint replaces the usual Virasoro constraint $\partial x^m \partial x_m =0$, and the Green-Schwarz fermionic spacetime spinor variables $θ^α$ arise as Faddeev-Popov ghosts for this constraint. In this paper, the purely bosonic classical action is simplified by replacing the classical d=10 pure spinor $λ^α$ with a d=10 projective pure spinor. The pure spinor an…
This article is based on a talk given at the Memorial Conference for Maximilian Kreuzer at the ESI in Vienna and contains a compact summary of a recent collaboration with P.A. Grassi. A non-linear projection from the space of SO(10) Weyl spinors to the space of pure spinors is presented together with some of its particular properties. This projection can be used to remove the constraints from Berkovits' pure spinor superstring while introducing additional gauge symmetries. This should allow to make transitions to equivalent formulations which might shed light on the origin of the pure spinor g…
We consider pure spinor strings that propagate in the background generated by a sequence of TsT transformations. We use the fact that U(1) isometry variables of TsT-transformed background are related to the isometry variables of the initial background in the universal way that is independent of the details of the background. We will argue that after redefinitions of pure spinors and the fermionic variables we can construct pure spinor action with manifest U(1) isometry. This fact implies that the pure spinor string in TsT-transformed background is described by pure spinor string in the origina…
We describe the pure spinor string in the $AdS_5\times S^5$ using unconstrained matrices first used by Roiban and Siegel for the Green-Schwarz superstring.
It is shown that the pure spinor formulation of the heterotic superstring in a generic gravitational and super Yang-Mills background has vanishing one-loop beta functions.
An attempt is made to apply the pure spinor formalism to the non-relativistic IIA D2-brane. The fermionic constraints corresponding to the rescaled fermionic coordinates are given. Two commuting spinor fields are introduced, each one corresponding to a fermionic constraint. A BRST charge is constructed via the ansatz proposed by N. Berkovits. The nilpotency of the BRST charge leads to a set of constraints for the two spinor fields including pure spinor constraints. A novel non-trivial solution is given for one of the spinor fields which can be written as a sum of two pure spinors.
We construct non-critical pure spinor superstrings in two, four and six dimensions. We find explicitly the map between the RNS variables and the pure spinor ones in the linear dilaton background. The RNS variables map onto a patch of the pure spinor space and the holomorphic top form on the pure spinor space is an essential ingredient of the mapping. A basic feature of the map is the requirement of doubling the superspace, which we analyze in detail. We study the structure of the non-critical pure spinor space, which is different from the ten-dimensional one, and its quantum anomalies. We comp…
A FORM program which is used to efficiently expand in components pure spinor superfield expressions of kinematic factors is presented and comments on how it works are made. It is highly customizable using the standard features of FORM and can be used to help obtaining superstring effective actions from the scattering amplitudes computed with the pure spinor formalism.
We use the non-minimal pure spinor formalism to compute in a super-Poincare covariant manner the four-point massless one and two-loop open superstring amplitudes, and the gauge anomaly of the six-point one-loop amplitude. All of these amplitudes are expressed as integrals of ten-dimensional superfields in a "pure spinor superspace" which involves five $θ$ coordinates covariantly contracted with three pure spinors. The bosonic contribution to these amplitudes agrees with the standard results, and we demonstrate identities which show how the $t_8$ and $ε_{10}$ tensors naturally emerge from integ…
We report on progresses on the derivation of pure spinor constraints, BRST algebra and BRST invariant sigma models a la pure spinors from the algebraic structure of the FDA underlying supergravity.
A Berkovits type action for pure spinors in even dimensions is considered. The equations of motion for pure spinors are investigated by using explicit parameterizations which solve the pure spinor constraints. For general interactions, the equations of motions are shown to be modified from the naive ones. The extra terms contain a particular projector. If the interactions are restricted to the ``ghost number'' u(1) and the Lorentz so(p,q) current couplings, the action has a large ``gauge symmetry''. In this case, in some ``gauges'', the extra terms vanish and the equations of motion for the pu…
This is an overview of the method of pure spinor superfields, written for "Handbook of Quantum Gravity", eds. C. Bambi, L. Modesto and I. Shapiro. The main focus is on the use of the formalism in maximal supergravity on a flat background. The basics of pure spinor superfields, and their relation to standard superspace, is reviewed. The pure spinor superstring model of Berkovits is briefly discussed. Consequences for divergence properties of loop diagrams in maximal supergravity are restated. Some final remarks are made concerning desirable development of the theoretical framework.
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.
A $b$-ghost was constructed for the $D=11$ non-minimal pure spinor superparticle by requiring that $\{Q , b\} = T$ where $Q = Λ^αD_α + R^α\bar{W}_α$ is the usual non-minimal pure spinor BRST operator. As was done for the $D=10$ $b$-ghost, we will show that the $D=11$ $b$-ghost can be simplified by introducing an $SO(10,1)$ fermionic vector $\barΣ^{i}$ constructed out of the fermionic spinor $D_α$ and pure spinor variables. This simplified version will be shown to satisfy $\{Q, b\} = T$ and $\{b , b\} =$ BRST - trivial.
We present an integrable deformation of the $AdS_{5}\times S^{5}$ pure spinor action based on homological perturbation theory. Its equations of motion, Lax connection and BRST symmetry are discussed. The resulting model describes a pure spinor superstring in a generalized supergravity background.
We investigate the complex geometry of D=10 pure spinor space. The Kähler structure and the corresponding metric giving rise to the desired Calabi-Yau property are determined, and an explicit covariant expression for the Laplacian is given. The metric is not that of a cone obtained by embedding pure spinor space in a flat space of unconstrained spinors. Some directions for future studies, concerning regularisation and generalisation to eleven dimensions, are briefly discussed.
After constructing a simplified four-dimensional version of the b ghost, topological multiloop amplitudes in type II superstring theory compactified on a six-dimensional orbifold are computed using the non-minimal pure spinor formalism. These pure spinor amplitude computations preserve manifest $N = 2$ $D = 4$ supersymmetry and, unlike the analogous topological multiloop amplitude computations using the hybrid formalism, can be extended to non-topological amplitudes.
We discuss an analysis presented by N. Berkovits in [arXiv:0712.0324] in the context of classical mechanics and perform its extension to the case of pure spinor string in general background.
After adding an RNS-like fermionic vector ψ^m to the pure spinor formalism, the non-minimal b ghost takes a simple form similar to the pure spinor BRST operator. The N=2 superconformal field theory generated by the b ghost and the BRST current can be interpreted as a "dynamical twisting" of the RNS formalism where the choice of which spin half ψ^m variables are twisted into spin 0 and spin 1 variables is determined by the pure spinor variables that parameterize the coset SO(10)/U(5).
The tree-level operator product expansion coefficients of the matter currents are calculated in the pure spinor formalism for type IIB superstring in the AdS(5)*S(5) background.
We show that new BRST charges in RNS superstring theory with nonstandard ghost numbers, constructed in our recent work, can be mapped to deformed pure spinor (PS) superstring theories, with the nilpotent pure spinor BRST charge $Q_{PS}=\oint{λ^α}d_α$ still retaining its form but with singular operator products between commuting spinor variables $λ^α$. Despite the OPE singularities, the pure spinor condition $λγ^mλ=0$ is still fulfilled in a weak sense, explained in the paper. The operator product singularities correspond to introducing interactions between the pure spinors. We conjecture that …
The general fluctuations, in the form of vertex operators, for the type II superstring in the pure spinor formalism are considered. We review the construction of these vertex operators in flat space-time. We then review the type II superstrings in curved background in the pure spinor formalism to finally construct the vertex operators on a generic type II supergravity background.
We study the coupling of the non-minimal ghost fields of the pure spinor superstring in general curved backgrounds. The coupling is found solving the consistent relations from the nilpotency of the non-minimal BRST charge.
We show that the Lax pair of the pure spinor superstring in AdS5xS5 admits a generalization where the generators of the superconformal algebra are replaced by the generators of some infinite-dimensional Lie superalgebra.
We study supersymmetry conditions for the heterotic pure superstring preserving and N=1 supersymmetry in four dimensions directly from the curved superspace defined by the Berkovits-Howe constraints.
Using the pure spinor formalism, we compute the tree-level correlation functions for three strings, one closed and two open, in N=1 D=10 superspace. Expanding the superfields in components, the respective terms of the effective action for the type I supergravity are obtained. All terms found agree with the effective action known in the literature. This result gives one more consistency test for the pure spinor formalism.
A simplified pure spinor superstring $b$ ghost in a curved heterotic background was constructed recently. The $b$ ghost is a composite operator and it is not holomorphic. However, it satisfies $\bar\partial b = [ Q , Ω]$, where $Q$ is the BRST charge. In this paper, we find a possible $Ω$.
We lift the set of classical non-local symmetries recently studied by Klose, Loebbert, and Münkler in the context of $\mathbb Z_2$ cosets to the pure spinor description of the superstring in the $AdS_5\times S^5$ background.
Using the RNS-like fermionic vector variables introduced in arXiv:1305.0693, the pure spinor $b$ ghost in a curved heterotic superstring background is easily constructed. This construction simplifies and completes the $b$ ghost construction in a curved background of arXiv:1311.7012.
In this note we study the preservation of the classical pure spinor BRST constraints under super T-duality transformations. We also determine the invariance of the one-loop conformal invariance and of the local gauge and Lorentz anomalies under the super T-dualities.
The discovery of pure spinor formalism makes the computation of superstring scattering amplitudes possible. In this paper, we will illustrate how computer algebra system Cadabra is used in computing the supersymmetric amplitude in pure spinor formalism and provide the source code that computes the tree-level massless 5-gluon amplitude.
The pure spinor formulation of the ten-dimensional superstring leads to manifestly supersymmetric loop amplitudes, expressed as integrals in pure spinor superspace. This paper explores different methods to evaluate these integrals and then uses them to calculate the kinematic factors of the one-loop and two-loop massless four-point amplitudes involving two and four Ramond states.
We examine the possibility of constructing analytical solutions describing marginal deformations in the open superstring field theory that is based on the non-minimal pure-spinor formalism. It is found out that some methods used for constructing solutions of bosonic and RNS string field theories do not seem to generalize to the pure-spinor case, while other methods do lead to reliable analytical solutions.
As a check of the first massive integrated vertex operator in the pure spinor formalism constructed in arXiv:1802.04486, we compute the one loop 2-point function of the stable non-BPS massive states in SO(32) heterotic string theory. This allows us to compute the one loop renormalized mass of these states using the pure spinor formalism. Our results are in agreement with the corresponding results obtained by Sen using the RNS formalism. This provides an instance of the equivalence between the RNS and the pure spinor formalism for the massive states at loop level.
A manifestly super-Poincaré covariant formalism for the superstring has recently been constructed using a pure spinor variable. Unlike the covariant Green-Schwarz formalism, this new formalism is easily quantized with a BRST operator and tree-level scattering amplitudes have been evaluated in a manifestly covariant manner. In this paper, the cohomology of the BRST operator in the pure spinor formalism is shown to give the usual light-cone Green-Schwarz spectrum. Although the BRST operator does not directly involve the Virasoro constraint, this constraint emerges after expressing the pure spino…
The general fluctuations, in the form of vertex operators, for the heterotic superstring in the pure spinor formalism are considered. The case of a flat background is reviewed and the case of a curved case is studied. The left-moving ghosts are pure spinors and the right-moving ghosts come from fixing the reparametrization invariance. The role of the reparametrization ghosts in the construction of the vertex operators is emphasized.
A covariant map between the Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz (RNS) and pure spinor formalisms for the superstring is found which transforms the RNS and pure spinor BRST operators into each other. The key ingredient is a dynamical twisting of the ten spin-half RNS fermions into five spin-one and five spin-zero fermions using bosonic pure spinors that parameterize an SO(10)/U(5) coset. The map relates massless vertex operators in the two formalisms, and gives a new description of Ramond states which does not require spin fields. An argument is proposed for relating the amplitude prescriptions in the two for…
It is proven that the classical pure spinor superstring in an AdS_5 x S^5 background has a flat current depending on a continuous parameter. This generalizes the recent result of Bena, et al. for the classical Green-Schwarz superstring.
We construct the action for the pure spinor superstring in the coset description of AdS_4 x CP^3 superspace, using the variables which solve the pure spinor condition. As a test of the consistency of the approach, we use the background field method to verify the absence of central charge at the second order in the expansion and to show the one-loop finiteness of the effective action.
Using the results recently obtained for computing integrals over (non-minimal) pure spinor superspace, we compute the coefficient of the massless two-loop four-point amplitude from first principles. Contrasting with the mathematical difficulties in the RNS formalism where unknown normalizations of chiral determinant formulae force the two-loop coefficient to be determined only indirectly through factorization, the computation in the pure spinor formalism can be smoothly carried out.
In the pure spinor formalism for the superstring and supermembrane, supersymmetric invariants are constructed by integrating over five $θ$'s in d=10 and over nine $θ$'s in d=11. This pure spinor superspace is easily explained using the superform (or ''ectoplasm'') method developed by Gates and collaborators, and generalizes the standard chiral superspace in d=4. The ectoplasm method is also useful for constructing d=10 and d=11 supersymmetric invariants in curved supergravity backgrounds.
Nilpotency of the pure spinor BRST operator in a curved background implies superspace equations of motion for the background. By computing one-loop corrections to nilpotency for the heterotic sigma model, the Yang-Mills Chern-Simons corrections to the background are derived.
