Motivated by application to multiple M5 branes, we study some properties of non-Abelian two-form gauge theories. We note that the fake curvature condition which is commonly used in the literature would restrict the dynamics to be either a free theory
or a topological system. We then propose a modification of transformation law which simplifies the gauge transformation of 3-form field strength and enables us to write down a gauge invariant action. We then argue that a generalization of Stueckelberg mechanism naturally gives mass to the two-form gauge field. For the application to multiple M5-branes, it should be identified with the KK modes.
Motivated by the recent proposal of an N=8 supersymmetric action for multiple M2-branes, we study the Lie 3-algebra in detail. In particular, we focus on the fundamental identity and the relation with Nambu-Poisson bracket. Some new algebras not know
n in the literature are found. Next we consider cubic matrix representations of Lie 3-algebras. We show how to obtain higher dimensional representations by tensor products for a generic 3-algebra. A criterion of reducibility is presented. We also discuss the application of Lie 3-algebra to the membrane physics, including the Basu-Harvey equation and the Bagger-Lambert model.
