This paper is concerned with the problem of coupling the N=8 superconformal Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson (BLG) theory to N=8 conformal supergravity in three dimensions. We start by constructing the on-shell N=8 conformal supergravity in three dimensions consisting of a Chern-Simons type term for each of the gauge fields: the spin connection, the SO(8) R-symmetry gauge field and the spin 3/2 Rarita-Schwinger (gravitino) field. We then proceed to couple this theory to the BLG theory. The final theory should have the same physical content, i.e., degrees of freedom, as the ordinary BLG theory. We discuss briefly the properties of this "topologically gauged" BLG theory and why this theory may be useful.
The Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson theory is coupled to an off-shell D=3, N=8 conformal supergravity background. Local transformation laws of the conformal supergravity multiplet are obtained from those of the D=4, N=8 SO(8) gauged supergravity. The complete Lagrangian and local transformation laws of the coupled theory are obtained. As an application the supercurrent multiplet in a flat background is obtained.
We study small fluctuations around a BPS three-sphere vacuum solution of mass deformed BLG theory. We realize the BLG theory by a Nambu bracket and find a maximally supersymmetric lagrangian for the fluctuation fields corresponding to a single M5 brane on $\mb{R}^{1,2}\times S^3$.
Concise summary of the recent progress in the search for the world-volume action for multiple M2 branes. After a recent discovery of simplified version of BLG action, which is based on the ordinary Lie-algebra structure, does not have coupling constants and extra dynamical fields, attention should be switched to the study of M2 brane dynamics. A viable brane analogue of Polyakov formalism and Belavin-Knizhnik theorem for strings can probably be provided by Palatini formalism for 3d (super)gravity.
In this paper we will analyse a system of multiple M2-branes in between two M5-branes. This will be analysed by studying Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson (BLG) theory on a manifold with two boundaries. The original BLG theory will be modified to make it gauge and supersymmetric invariant in presence of the boundaries. However, this modified theory will only preserve half the supersymmetry of the original theory. We will also analyse the deformation of this theory caused by noncommutativity between Grassman coordinates and spacetime coordinates. Finally, we will analyse the Higgsing of this theory to …
Recently it was proposed that the Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson theory with Nambu-Poisson structure describes an M5-brane in a three-form flux background. In this paper we investigate the superalgebra associated with this theory. We derive the central charges corresponding to M5-brane solitons in 3-form backgrounds. We also show that double dimensional reduction of the superalgebra gives rise to the Poisson bracket terms of a non-commutative D4-brane superalgebra. We provide interpretations of the D4-brane charges in terms of spacetime intersections.
We reveal non-manifest gauge and SO(1,5) Lorentz symmetries in the Lagrangian description of a six-dimensional free chiral field derived from the Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson model in arXiv:0804.3629 and make this formulation covariant with the use of a triplet of auxiliary scalar fields. We consider the coupling of this self-dual construction to gravity and its supersymmetrization. In the case of the non-linear model of arXiv:0805.2898 we solve the equations of motion of the gauge field, prove that its non-linear field strength is self-dual and find a gauge-covariant form of the non-linear actio…
In this paper we begin an investigation into the $l_p^3$ corrections to the supersymmetry transformations of the Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson (BLG) theory. We begin with a review of the dNS duality transformation which allows a non-abelian gauge field to be dualised to a scalar field in 2+1 dimensions. Applying this duality to $α'^2$ terms of the non-abelian D2-brane theory gives rise to the $l_p^3$ corrections of the Lorentzian BLG theory. We then apply this duality transformation to the $α'^2$ corrections of the D2-brane supersymmetry transformations. For the `abelian' BLG theory we are able to…
By using the recently proposed prescription arXiv:0804.3629 for obtaining the $M5$ brane action from multiple $M2$ branes action in BLG theory, we examine such transition when 11 Dimensional background antisymmetric fluxes couple to the $M2$ brane world volume. Such couplings was suggested in arXiv:0805.3427 where it was used the fact that various fields in BLG theory are valued in a Lie 3-algebra. We argue that this action and promoting it by Nambu-Poisson bracket gives the expected coupling of fluxes with $M5$ brane at least at weak coupling limit. We also study some other aspects of the act…
We consider three-dimensional maximally superconformal Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson (BLG) theory and its topologically gauged version (constructed recently in arXiv:0809.4478 [hep-th]) in the light-cone gauge. After eliminating the entire Chern-Simons gauge field, the ungauged BLG theory looks more conventional and, apart from the order of the interaction terms, resembles N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions. The light-cone superspace version of the BLG theory is given to quadratic and quartic order and some problems with constructing the sixth order interaction terms are discussed. In …
Starting from the three dimensional N=8 BLG and N=6 BL theories with CS level k=1, a dimensional reduction is performed on the M2-branes worldvolume. The IR limit of these 2D EFTs should represent the action of F1 strings in type IIA. The CS term reduces to a particular Phi*F term and the scalars and fermions get "mass" terms. The reduced actions still rely on three-algebra, which we did not require to define precisely.
We study the eleven-dimensional supergravity and the classical solutions corresponding to M2-branes ending on M5-branes. We obtain the generic BPS configuration representing two sets of parallel M5-branes with (1+1) commonly longitudinal directions and M2-branes stretching between them. We also discuss how the brane creation is described in supergravity.
We show that the Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson (BLG) theory with two pairs of negative norm generators is derived from the scaling limit of an orbifolded Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena (ABJM) theory. The BLG theory with many Lorentzian pairs is known to be reduced to the Dp-brane theory via Higgs mechanism, so our scaling procedure can be used to derive Dp-branes directly from M2-branes in the field theory language. In this paper, we focus on the D3-brane case and investigate the scaling limits of various quiver Chern-Simons theories obtained from different orbifolding actions. Remarkably, in …
We obtain a general class of polynomials for which the Schrodinger operator has a discrete spectrum. This class includes all the scalar potentials in membrane, 5-brane, p-branes, multiple M2 branes, BLG and ABJM theories. We provide a proof of the discreteness of the spectrum of the associated Schrodinger operators. This a a first step in order to analyze BLG and ABJM supersymmetric theories from a non-perturbative point of view.
We present a general method for constructing supergravity solutions for intersecting branes. The solutions are written in terms of a single function, which is the solution to a nonlinear differential equation. We illustrate this procedure in detail for the case of M2-branes ending on M5-branes. We also present supergravity solutions for strings ending on Dp-branes. Unlike previous results in the literature, these branes are completely localized.
We construct an explicit supergravity solution for a configuration of localized D4-brane ending on a D6-brane, restricted to the near horizon region of the latter. We generate this solution by dimensionally reducing the supergravity solution for a flat M5-brane in $R^{1,7} \times C^2/Z_N$ with the M5-brane partially embedded in $C^2/Z_N$. We describe the general class of localized intersections and overlaps whose supergravity solutions are constructible in this way.
We construct the action and transformation laws for bulk five-dimensional AdS supergravity coupled to one or two brane-localized Goldstone fermions. The resulting bulk-plus-brane system gives a model-independent description of brane-localized supersymmetry breaking in the Randall-Sundrum scenario. We explicitly reduce the action and transformation laws to spontaneously broken four-dimensional supergravity.
We study webs of D3- and D5-branes in type IIB supergravity. These webs preserve at least 8 supercharges. By solving the Killing spinor equations we determine the form of supergravity solutions for the system. We then turn to the sub-class of the intersecting D3/D5 brane system and elucidate some of its features.
We study the coupling of supergravity with a purely bosonic brane source (bosonic p-brane). The interaction, described by the sum of their respective actions, is self-consistent if the bosonic p-brane is the pure bosonic limit of a super-p-brane. In that case the dynamical system preserves 1/2 of the local supersymmetry characteristic of the `free' supergravity.
In this note we present a simple, general prescription for coupling brane localized fields to bulk supergravity. We illustrate the procedure by considering 6D N=2 bulk supergravity on a 2D orbifold, with brane fields localized at the fixed points. The resulting action enjoys the full 6D N=2 symmetries in the bulk, and those of 4D N=1 supergravity at the brane positions.
Using N=2 off-shell supergravity in five dimensions, we supersymmetrize the brane world scenario of Randall and Sundrum. We extend their construction to include supersymmetric matter at the fixpoints.
Starting from the bosonic sector of the M-theory super-five-brane we obtain the action for duality-symmetric three-brane and construct the consistent coupling of the proposed action with the bosonic sector of type IIB supergravity.
We present a class of two-charged intersecting brane solutions of the D=11 supergravity, which contain the M2-brane, M5-brane, Kaluza-Klein monopole or Brinkmann wave as their building blocks. These solutions share the common feature that one charge is smeared out or uniform over all spatial directions occupied by the branes or waves, while the other charge is localized in them.
We show that the covariant effective action for M5-brane is a solution to the Hamilton-Jacobi (H-J) equations of 11-dimensional supergravity. The solution to the H-J equations reproduces the supergravity solution that represents the M2-M5 bound states.
We construct supergravity solutions that correspond to N Dp-branes coinciding with \bar{N} \bar{Dp}-branes. We study the physical properties of the solutions and analyse the supergravity description of tachyon condensation. We construct an interpolation between the brane-antibrane solution and the Schwarzschild solution and discuss its possible application to the study of non-supersymmetric black holes.
By separating the thermal circle from the extra dimensions, we find a novel exact D$p$-brane solution of Type IIB supergravity, which might provide a scenario for studying the non-perturbative dynamics of QCD$_4$ from the perspective of Type IIB supergravity.
Supergravity solution describing two intersecting M5-branes is presented. The branes are fixed in the relative transverse directions and are delocalized along the overall transverse ones. The intersection can be smoothed, so that the M5-branes present one holomorphic cycle. We also obtain a solution corresponding to an M5-brane on a holomorphic cycle of multi-Taub-NUT space. All these solutions preserve 1/4 of supersymmetry.
We show that the effective actions of D-brane and M-brane are solutions to the Hamilton-Jacobi (H-J) equations in supergravities. This fact means that these effective actions are on-shell actions in supergravities. These solutions to the H-J equations reproduce the supergravity solutions that represent D-branes in a $B_2$ field, M2 branes and the M2-M5 bound states. The effective actions in these solutions are those of a probe D-brane and a probe M-brane. Our findings can be applied to the study of the gauge/gravity correspondence, especially the holographic renormalization group, and a search…
We study the tachyon condensation on the D-brane--antiD-brane system from the supergravity point of view. The non-supersymmetric supergravity solutions with symmetry ISO($p,1$) $\times$ SO($9-p$) are known to be characterized by three parameters. By interpreting this solution as coincident $N$ D$p$-branes and ${\bar N}$ ${\bar {\rm D}}p$-branes we give, for the first time, an explicit representation of the three parameters of supergravity solutions in terms of $N, \bar N$ and the tachyon vev. We demonstrate that the solution and the corresponding ADM mass capture all the required properties an…
In this paper time dependent solutions of supergravities with dilaton and arbitrary rank antisymmetric tensor field are found. Although the solutions are nonsupersymmetric the equations of motions can be integrated in a simple form. Such supergravity solutions are related to Euclidean or spacelike branes (S-branes).
The superfield equations of massive IIA supergravity, in the form of constraints on the superspace geometry, are shown to be implied by $κ$-symmetry of the topologically massive D-2-brane.
The dual supergravity description of the flow between (2,0) five-brane theory and the noncommutative five-brane (OM) theory is examined at critical five-brane field strength. The self-duality of the field strength is shown to arise as a consequence of the supergravity solution. Open membrane solutions are examined in the background of the five-brane giving rise to an M analogue of the noncommutative open string (NCOS) solution.
We give the full supersymmetric and kappa-symmetric action for the Dirichlet three-brane, including its coupling to background superfields of ten-dimensional type IIB supergravity.
We show that many of the recently proposed supersymmetric p-brane solutions of d=10 and d=11 supergravity have the property that they interpolate between Minkowski spacetime and a compactified spacetime, both being supersymmetric supergravity vacua. Our results imply that the effective worldvolume action for small fluctuations of the super p-brane is a supersingleton field theory for $(adS)_{p+2}$, as has been often conjectured in the past.
We discuss the supergravity couplings of noncommutative D-branes by considering the disk amplitudes with one closed string insertion. The result confirms a recent proposal for the general form of the noncommutative Yang-Mills operators coupling to the massless closed string modes. The construction involves smearing Yang-Mills field variables along an open Wilson line. For multiple D-branes interacting with background supergravity fields, this prescription reduces, in the B=0 limit, to the ``symmetrized trace'' prescription, and the supergravity fields are seen to be functionals of the nonabeli…
A vacuum solution of anomaly-free N=1, D=10 Dual Supergravity is constructed. This vacuum corresponds to the presence of two 5-branes, intersecting along M_4, and possesses N=1, D=4 supersymmetry.
We calculate the supergravity fields sourced by a D-brane with a null travelling wave from disk amplitudes in type IIB string theory compactified on T^4 x S^1. The amplitudes reproduce all the non-trivial features of the previously known two-charge supergravity solutions in the D-brane/momentum frame, providing a direct link between the microscopic bound states and their macroscopic descriptions.
The standard eleven-dimensional supergravity action depends on a three-form gauge field and does not allow direct coupling to five-branes. Using previously developed methods, we construct a covariant eleven-dimensional supergravity action depending on a three-form and six-form gauge field in a duality-symmetric manner. This action is coupled to both the M-theory two-brane and five-brane, and corresponding equations of motion are obtained. Consistent coupling relates D=11 duality properties with self-duality properties of the M-5-brane. From this duality-symmetric formulation, one can derive an…
We construct supergravity solutions describing branes (D2-branes or NS5-branes or waves) localized within D6-branes in the region close to the core of the D6-branes. Other similar string-theory and M-theory `near-core' localized solutions can be found by applying U-duality and/or lifting D=10 solutions to D=11. In particular, the D2-branes localized on D6-branes is T-dual to a special case of the background describing (D)strings localized on (D)5-branes and thus is also related to a localized intersection of M2-branes and M5-branes. D6+wave configuration is U-dual to a D0-brane localized on a …
We find explicit supergravity solutions which describe branes in the AdS_3 x S^3 background. These solutions preserve 8 of the 16 supersymmetries of this background, and are consistent with kappa-symmetry. These represent new 1/2-BPS states of string theory.
We give the full supersymmetric and kappa-symmetric actions for the Dirichlet p-branes, including their coupling to background superfields of ten-dimensional type IIA and IIB supergravity.
We present an on-shell formulation of 5d gauged supergravity coupled to chiral matter multiplets localized at the orbifold fixed points. The brane action is constructed via the Noether method. In such set-up we compute one-loop corrections to the Kahler potential of the effective 4d supergravity and compare the result with previous computations based on the off-shell formalism. The results agree at lowest order in brane sources, however at higher order there are differences. We explain this discrepancy by an ambiguity in resolving singularities associated with the presence of infinitely thin b…
We study stationary black brane solutions in the context of N = 2, U(1) gauged supergravity in five dimensions. Using the formalism of first-order flow equations, we construct examples of extremal black brane solutions that include Nernst branes, i.e. extremal black brane solutions with vanishing entropy density, as well as black branes with cylindrical horizon topology, whose entropy density can be computed from a Cardy formula of the dual CFT.
We investigate the four-dimensional supergravity theory obtained from the compactification of eleven-dimensional supergravity on a smooth manifold of G_2 holonomy. We give a new derivation for the Kaehler potential associated with the scalar kinetic term of the N=1 four-dimensional theory. We then examine some solutions of the four-dimensional theory which arise from wrapped M-branes.
We study static black brane solutions in the context of N = 2 U(1) gauged supergravity in four dimensions. Using the formalism of first-order flow equations, we construct novel extremal black brane solutions including examples of Nernst branes, i.e. extremal black brane solutions with vanishing entropy density. We also discuss a class of non-extremal generalizations which is captured by the first-order formalism.
We show how, by making use of a new basis of the IIB supergravity axion-dilaton coset, SL(2,R)/SO(2), 7-branes that belong to different conjugacy classes of the duality group SL(2,R) naturally couple to IIB supergravity with appropriate source terms characterized by an SL(2,R) charge matrix Q. The conjugacy classes are determined by the value of the determinant of Q. The (p,q) 7-branes are the branes in the conjugacy class detQ = 0. The 7-branes in the conjugacy class detQ > 0 are labelled by three numbers (p,q,r) which parameterize the matrix Q and will be called Q7-branes. We construct the f…
We construct the N=2, D=9 supergravity theory up to the quartic fermionic terms and derive the supersymmetry transformation rules for the fields modulo cubic fermions. We consider a class of p-brane solutions of this theory, the stainless p-branes, which cannot be isotropically oxidized into higher dimensions. The new stainless elementary membrane and elementary particle solutions are found. It is explicitly verified that these solutions preserve half of the supersymmetry.
A non-local classical duality between the three-block truncated 11D supergravity and the 8D vacuum gravity with two commuting Killing symmetries is established. The supergravity four-form field is generated via an inverse dualisation of the corresponding Killing two-forms in six dimensions. 11D supersymmetry condition is shown to be equivalent to existence of covariantly constant spinors in eight dimensions. Thus any solution to the vacuum Einstein equations in eight dimensions depending on six coordinates and admitting Killing spinors have supersymmetric 11D-supergravity counterparts. Using t…
We present two new solutions of Romans' massive type IIA supergravity characterized by the two non-trivial massive potentials of Romans' theory: the NSNS 2-form and the RR 7-form. They can be interpreted respectively as the intersection of a fundamental string and a D8-brane over a D0-brane and the intersection of a D6-brane with a D8-brane over a NSNS5-brane. The D8-brane manifests itself through the mass parameter and in the massless limit one recovers the standard fundamental string and D6-brane solutions. Although these solutions do not have the usual form for BPS bound states at threshold…
We investigate conformal symmetries of the Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena (ABJM) theory for multiple M2 branes and the Lorentzian Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson (L-BLG) theory which can be obtained by taking a scaling limit k (>>N) -> \infty of the ABJM theory. The conformal symmetry is maintained in the L-BLG by considering general space-time varying solutions to the constraint equations. The dual geometry is reduced to d=10 AdS4 x CP3 in the scaling limit and has the same conformal symmetry. The curvature radius R satisfies l_{11p} << l_{10p} << R << l_s (l_{dp} and l_s are the d-dimensional …
These lecture notes introduce the multiple membrane theories known as BLG and ABJM. We assume the reader is familiar with string theory, but not with M-theory, 11-dimensional supergravity or membranes. We therefore start with a background on M-theory and its extended objects before discussing BLG and ABJM. The link to string theory via dimensional reduction will be maintained throughout.
We construct several classes of exact supersymmetric supergravity solutions describing D4 branes polarized into NS5 branes and F-strings polarized into D2 branes. These setups belong to the same universality class as the perturbative solutions used by Polchinski and Strassler to describe the string dual of N=1* theories. The D4-NS5 setup can be interpreted as a string dual to a confining 4+1 dimensional theory with 8 supercharges, whose properties we discuss. By T-duality, our solutions give Type IIB supersymmetric backgrounds with polarized branes.
A supersymmetric Randall-Sundrum brane-world demands that not merely the graviton but the entire supergravity multiplet be trapped on the brane. To demonstrate this, we present a complete ansatz for the reduction of (D=5,N=4) gauged supergravity to (D=4,N=2) ungauged supergravity in the Randall-Sundrum geometry. We verify that it is consistent to lowest order in fermion terms. In particular, we show how the graviphotons avoid the `no photons on the brane' result because they do not originate from Maxwell's equations in D=5 but rather from odd-dimensional self-duality equations. In the case of …
We study geometries produced by brane intersections preserving eight supercharges. Typical examples of such configurations are given by fundamental strings ending on Dp branes and we construct gravity solutions describing such intersections. The geometry is specified in terms of two functions obeying coupled differential equations and the boundary conditions are determined by distributions of D branes. We show that a consistency of type IIB supergravity constrains the allowed positions of the branes. The shapes of branes derived from gravity are found to be in a perfect agreement with profiles…
We present a theory of N=2 chiral supergravity in (10+2)-dimensions. This formulation is similar to N=1 supergravity presented recently using null-vectors in 12D. In order to see the consistency of this theory, we perform a simple dimensional reduction to ten-dimensions, reproducing the type IIB chiral supergravity. We also show that our supergravity can be consistent background for super (2+2)-brane theory, satisfying fermionic invariance of the total action. Such supergravity theory without manifest Lorentz invariance had been predicted by the recent F-theory in twelve-dimensions.
We summarise the present status of supersymmetric Randall-Sundrum brane-world scenarios and report on their possible realisation within five-dimensional matter coupled N=2 gauged supergravity.
We construct the supergravity solution in 11 dimensions describing D6-branes wrapped around a Kahler four-cycle with a B-field along the flat directions of the brane. The configuration is dual to an N=2 noncommutative gauge theory in 2+1 dimensions. We also construct the four associated independent Killing spinors. The phenomenon of supersymmetry without supersymmetry appears naturally when compactifying to type IIA or 8d gauged supergravity. Therefore, this solution also provides an 11d background with four supercharges and four-form flux, which is not obtainable from 8d gauged supergravity.
We describe the coupled system of supergravity and a superbrane source by the sum of the group manifold action for D--dimensional supergravity and the action for a super--$p$--brane. We derive the generalized Einstein equation with the source and discuss the local fermionic symmetries of the coupled action. Our scheme could be especially relevant in $D=11, 10$, in which the superfield actions for supergravity are not known.
The radial quantization of N=8 theory in three dimensions is considered i.e. we study the N=8 BLG theory on RxS^2. We present the explicit from of the Lagrangian and the corresponding supersymmetry transformations and supersymmetry algebra. We study spectrum of this theory and some of its BPS configurations.
We construct supergravity solutions corresponding to space-like branes in string theory. Our approach is to apply the usual solution generating techniques to an appropriate time-dependent solution of the eleven dimensional vacuum Einstein equations. In this way all SDp-brane solutions are obtained, as well as the NS and M-theory space branes. Bound states of SDp/SD(p-2)- and SDp/SD(p-4)-branes are also constructed. Finally, we begin an investigation of the near-brane regions and singularity structure of these solutions.
Domain wall and electrovac solutions of gauged N=4 D=4 supergravity, with gauge group SU(2) or SU(2)xSU(2), are interpreted as supersymmetric Kaluza-Klein vacua of N=1 D=10 supergravity. These vacua are shown to be the near-horizon geometries of certain intersecting brane solutions.
