No Arabic abstract
Motivated by a recent progress in studying the duality-symmetric models of nonlinear electrodynamics, we revert to the auxiliary tensorial (bispinor) field formulation of the O(2) duality proposed by us in arXiv:hep-th/0110074, arXiv:hep-th/0303192. In this approach, the entire information about the given duality-symmetric system is encoded in the O(2) invariant interaction Lagrangian which is a function of the auxiliary fields V_{alphabeta}, bar V_{dot alphadot beta}. We extend this setting to duality-symmetric systems with higher derivatives and show that the recently employed nonlinear twisted self-duality constraints amount to the equations of motion for the auxiliary tensorial fields in our approach. Some other related issues are briefly discussed and a few instructive examples are explicitly worked out.
Just as string T-duality originates from transforming field equations into Bianchi identities on the string worldsheet, so it has been suggested that M-theory U-dualities originate from transforming field equations into Bianchi identities on the membrane worldvolume. However, this encounters a problem unless the target space has dimension $D = p + 1$. We identify the problem to be the nonintegrability of the U-duality transformation assigned to the pull-back map. Just as a double geometry renders manifest the $O(D,D)$ string T-duality, here we show in the case of the M2-brane in $D = 3$ that a generalised geometry renders manifest the $SL(3) times SL(2)$ U-duality. In the case of M2-brane in $D=4$, with and without extra target space coordinates, we show that only the ${rm GL}(4,R)ltimes R^4$ subgroup of the expected $SL(5,R)$ U-duality symmetry is realised.
Quantum electrodynamics is considered to be a trivial theory. This is based on a number of evidences, both numerical and analytical. One of the strong indications for triviality of QED is the existence of the Landau pole for the running coupling. We show that by treating QED as the leading order approximation of an effective field theory and including the next-to-leading order corrections, the Landau pole is removed. Therefore, we conclude that the conjecture, that for reasons of self-consistency, QED needs to be trivial is a mere artefact of the leading order approximation to the corresponding effective field theory.
As an extension of the Ivanov-Zupnik approach to self-dual nonlinear electrodynamics in four dimensions [1,2], we reformulate U(1) duality-invariant nonlinear models for a gauge $(2p-1)$-form in $d=4p$ dimensions as field theories with manifestly U(1) invariant self-interactions. This reformulation is suitable to generate arbitrary duality-invariant nonlinear systems including those with higher derivatives.
Demanding $O(d,d)$-duality covariance, Hohm and Zwiebach have written down the action for the most general cosmology involving the metric, $b$-field and dilaton, to all orders in $alpha$ in the string frame. Remarkably, for an FRW metric-dilaton ansatz the equations of motion turn out to be quite simple, except for the presence of an unknown function of a single variable. If this unknown function satisfies some simple properties, it allows de Sitter solutions in the string frame. In this note, we write down the Einstein frame analogues of these equations, and make some observations that make the system tractable. Perhaps surprisingly, we find that a necessary condition for de Sitter solutions to exist is that the unknown function must satisfy a certain second order non-linear ODE. The solutions of the ODE do not have a simple power series expansion compatible with the leading supergravity expectation. We discuss possible interpretations of this fact. After emphasizing that all (potential) string and Einstein frame de Sitter solutions have a running dilaton, we write down the most general cosmologies with a constant dilaton in string/Einstein frame: these have power law scale factors.
We develop a general formalism of duality rotations for bosonic conformal spin-$s$ gauge fields, with $sgeq 2$, in a conformally flat four-dimensional spacetime. In the $s=1$ case this formalism is equivalent to the theory of $mathsf{U}(1)$ duality-invariant nonlinear electrodynamics developed by Gaillard and Zumino, Gibbons and Rasheed, and generalised by Ivanov and Zupnik. For each integer spin $sgeq 2$ we demonstrate the existence of families of conformal $mathsf{U}(1)$ duality-invariant models, including a generalisation of the so called ModMax Electrodynamics ($s=1$). Our bosonic results are then extended to the $mathcal{N}=1$ and $mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric cases. We also sketch a formalism of duality rotations for conformal gauge fields of Lorentz type $(m/2, n/2)$, for positive integers $m $ and $n$.