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We study the invariance of N = 1, d = 4 supergravity solutions under diffeormophisms and show that, in order to obtain consistent conditions ("Killing equations") invariant under local supersymmetry transformations, one has to perform supersymmetry transformations generated by the superpartner of the vector that generates standard diffeomorphisms, just as a superspace analysis indicates. Using these transformations, we construct a Noether-Wald charge of N = 1, d = 4 supergravity with fermionic contributions which is diff- Lorentz- and supersymmetry-invariant (up to a total derivative). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the process of vacuum decay in supersymmetric models related to flux compactifications. In particular, we describe these instabilities within supersymmetric Lagrangians for a single three-form multiplet. This multiplet combines scalar fields, representing the moduli fields in four dimensions, with 3-form fields that influence the potential for these moduli via the integer flux of their associated 4-form field strength. Furthermore, using supersymmetry as a guide we obtain the form of the couplings of these fields to the membranes that act as sources to the 3-form potentials. Adding small supersymmetry breaking terms to these Lagrangians one can obtain instanton solutions describing the decay of the vacua in these models by the formation of a membrane bubble. These instantons combine the usual Coleman-de Luccia and the Brown-Teitelboim formalisms in a single unified model. We study simple numerical examples of theories with and without gravity in this new framework and generalize known Euclidean methods to accomodate the simulataneous inclusion of scalar fields and charged membranes to these instanton solutions. Moreover, we show explicitly in these examples how one recovers the static supersymmetric solutions in the limiting case where the supersymmetry breaking terms vanish. In this limit, the bubble becomes infinite and flat and represents a hybrid between the usual supersymmetric domain walls of field theory models and the brane solutions interpolating between the supersymmetric vacua; a sort of dressed supermembrane BPS solution. Finally, we briefly comment on the implications of these solutions in cosmological models based on the String Theory Landscape where these type of 4d effective theories could be relevant in inflationary scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We give a prescription for N = 1 supersymmetrization of any (four-dimensional) nonlinear electrodynamics theory with a Lagrangian density satisfying a convexity condition that we relate to semi-classical unitarity. We apply it to the one-parameter ModMax extension of Maxwell electrodynamics that preserves both electromagnetic duality and conformal invariance, and its Born-Infeld-like generalization, proving that duality invariance is preserved. We also establish superconformal invariance of the superModMax theory by showing that its coupling to supergravity is super-Weyl invariant. The higher-derivative photino-field interactions that appear in any supersymmetric nonlinear electrodynamics theory are removed by an invertible nonlinear superfield redefinition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the complete supersymmetric and κ-symmetric action for the 4- dimensional interacting system of open supermembrane, dynamical supergravity and 3-form matter multiplets. The cases of a single 3-form matter multiplet and a quite generic model with a number of nonlinear interacting double 3-form multiplets are considered. In all cases the fermionic parameter of the κ-symmetry is subject to two apparently different projection conditions which suggests that the ground state of the system, in particular a domain junction, might preserve at most 1/4 of the spacetime supersymmetry. The boundary term of the open supermembrane action, needed to preserve the κ-symmetry, has the meaning of the action of a superstring. The Wess-Zumino term of this superstring action is expressed in terms of real linear superfield playing the role of Stückelberg field for the 3-form gauge symmetry. This indicates that this symmetry is broken spontaneously by the superstring at the boundary of supermembrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct a manifestly supersymmetric and kappa-symmetry invariant worldvolume action describing the coupling of a dynamical membrane to an N = 1, D = 4 SU(N) super-Yang-Mills multiplet. Worldvolume scalar fields in this action are a Gold-stone and a Goldstino associated with spontaneous breaking, by the membrane, of half of N = 1, D = 4 supersymmetry. When the Goldstone fields are set to zero, the model reduces to an N = 1, d = 3 SU(N) Chern-Simons theory induced by the SYM coupling. We show that, when the membrane couples to the Veneziano-Yankielowicz (VY) effective theory of the N = 1 SYM, it sources VY bulk field equations, separates two distinct SYM vacua and provides the missing contribution to the tension of BPS saturated domain-wall configurations, for which the membrane serves as a core. As a result, we obtain explicit BPS domain-wall solutions in the Veneziano-Yankielowicz theory. We also briefly discuss a supersymmetric system of an open membrane having a string attached to its boundary and coupled to a massive extension of the Veneziano-Yankielowicz model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider four-dimensional N = 1 supergravity models of a kind appearing in string flux compactifications. It has been recently shown that, by using double three-form multiplets instead of ordinary chiral multiplets, one can promote to dynamical variables (part of) the quantized numbers appearing in the flux-induced superpotential. We show that double three-form multiplets naturally transform under symplectic dualities associated with the special Kähler structure that characterizes their scalar sector. Furthermore, we discuss how to couple membranes which carry arbitrary 'electric-magnetic' charges. The complete action is supersymmetric, kappa-symmetric and duality covariant. As an application, we derive the flow equations for BPS domain walls sourced by membranes and give simple analytic examples of their solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently proposed exceptional field theories (EFTs) making manifest the duality E n ( n ) symmetry, first observed as nonlinearly realized symmetries of the maximal d = 3 , 4 , . . . , 9 supergravity ( n = 11 − d ) and containing 11D and type IIB supergravity as sectors, were formulated in enlarged spacetimes. In the case of E 7 ( 7 ) EFT such an enlarged spacetime can be identified with the bosonic body of the d = 4 central charge superspace Σ ( 60 | 32 ) , the N = 8 d = 4 superspace completed by 56 additional bosonic coordinates associated to central charges of the maximal d = 4 supersymmetry algebra. In this paper we show how the hypothesis on the relation of all the known E n ( n ) EFTs, including n = 8 , with supersymmetry leads to the conjecture on existence of 11D exceptional field theory living in 11D tensorial central charge superspace Σ ( 528 | 32 ) and underlying all the E n ( n ) EFTs with n = 2 , . . . , 8 , and probably the double field theory (DFT). We conjecture the possible form of the section conditions of such an 11D EFT and show that quite generic solutions of these can be generated by superparticle models the ground states of which preserve from one half to all but one supersymmetry. The properties of these superparticle models are briefly discussed. We argue that, upon quantization, their quantum states should describe free massless non-conformal higher spin fields in D = 11 . We also discuss some relevant representations of the M-theory superalgebra which, in the present context, describes supersymmetry of the 11D EFT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We consider the covariant quantization of the massless superparticle (M0-brane) in the spinor moving frame or twistor-like Lorentz harmonics formulation. The action involves the set of 16 constrained 32 component Majorana spinors, the spinor Lorentz harmonics parametrizing (as homogeneous coordinates, modulo gauge symmetries) the celestial sphere . There presence allows us to separate covariantly the first and the second class constraints of the model. We show that, after taking into account the second class constraints by means of Dirac brackets and after further reducing the first class constraints algebra, the system is described in terms of a simple BRST charge associated to the , supersymmetry algebra. The study of the cohomology of this BRST operator requires a regularization by complexifying the bosonic ghosts for the κ-symmetry, , and further reduction of the regularized cohomology problem to the one for a simpler complex BRST charge . This latter is essentially the pure spinor BRST charge by Berkovits, but with a composite pure spinor constructed from the complex spinor with zero norm, , and the spinorial harmonics . This exhibits a possible origin of the complexity (non-Hermiticity) characteristic of the Berkovits pure spinor approach. The simple structure of the non-trivial cohomology of the M0-brane BRST charge finds explanation in the properties that the superparticle action exhibits in the so-called ‘covariantized light-cone’ basis, where the M0-brane action is expressed in terms of κ-symmetry invariant variables. The set of gauge symmetries in this basis reduces to the Borel subgroup of . Imposing their generators as conditions on the superparticle wavefunctions, we arrive at the covariant quantization in terms of physical degrees of freedom which hints possible hidden symmetries of supergravity. Besides , which in the twistor like Lorentz harmonic formulation is seen already at the classical level, we discuss also some indirect arguments in favor of the possible symmetry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It is known that, for zero fermionic sector, , the bosonic equations of Cremmer–Julia–Scherk eleven-dimensional supergravity can be collected in a compact expression, , which is a condition on the curvature of the generalized connection w. In this Letter we show that the equation , where is the covariant derivative for the generalized connection w, collects all the bosonic equations of supergravity when the gravitino is nonvanishing, . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The underlying gauge group structure of the D=11 Cremmer–Julia–Scherk supergravity becomes manifest when its three-form field A3 is expressed through a set of one-form gauge fields, , , η1α, and Ea, ψα. These are associated with the generators of the elements of a family of enlarged supersymmetry algebras parametrized by a real number s. We study in detail the composite structure of A3 extending previous results by D’Auria and Fré, stress the equivalence of the above problem to the trivialization of a standard supersymmetry algebra cohomology four-cocycle on the enlarged superalgebras, and discuss its possible dynamical consequences. To this aim we consider the properties of the first order supergravity action with a composite A3 field and find the set of extra gauge symmetries that guarantee that the field theoretical degrees of freedom of the theory remain the same as with a fundamental A3. The extra gauge symmetries are also present in the so–called rheonomic treatment of the first order D=11 supergravity action when A3 is composite. Our considerations on the composite structure of A3 provide one more application of the idea that there exists an extended superspace coordinates/fields correspondence. They also suggest that there is a possible embedding of D=11 supergravity into a theory defined on the enlarged superspace . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tree amplitudes of 10D supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (SYM) and 11D supergravity (SUGRA) are collected in multi-particle counterparts of analytic on-shell superfields. These have essentially the same form as their chiral 4D counterparts describing N=4 SYM and N=8 SUGRA, but with components dependent on a different set of bosonic variables. These are the D=10 and D=11 spinor helicity variables, the set of which includes the spinor frame variable (Lorentz harmonics) and a scalar density, and generalized homogeneous coordinates of the coset SOD−2SOD−4⊗U1 (internal harmonics).We present an especially convenient parametrization of the spinor harmonics (Lorentz covariant gauge fixed with the use of an auxiliary gauge symmetry) and use this to find (a gauge fixed version of) the 3-point tree superamplitudes of 10D SYM and 11D SUGRA which generalize the 4 dimensional anti-MHV superamplitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose the on-shell superfield description for tree amplitudes of D=11 supergravity and the Britto-Cachazo-Feng-Witten-type recurrent relations for these superamplitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]