March 26, 2015
We construct the Hodge dual for supermanifolds by means of the Grassmannian Fourier transform of superforms. In the case of supermanifolds it is known that the superforms are not sufficient to construct a consistent integration theory and that the integral forms are needed. They are distribution-like forms which can be integrated on supermanifolds as a top form can be integrated on a conventional manifold. In our construction of the Hodge dual of superforms they arise naturally. The compatibility between Hodge duality and supersymmetry is exploited and applied to several examples. We define the irreducible representations of supersymmetry in terms of integral and superforms in a new way which can be easily generalised to several models in different dimensions. The construction of supersymmetric actions based on the Hodge duality is presented and new supersymmetric actions with higher derivative terms are found. These terms are required by the invertibility of the Hodge operator.
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May 10, 2023
The Hodge dual operator, recently introduced for supermanifolds, is used to reformulate super Yang-Mills and supergravity in $D=4$. We first recall the definition of the Hodge dual operator for flat and curved supermanifolds. Then we show how to recover the usual super-Yang-Mills equations of motion for $N=1,2$ supersymmetry, and the obstacles (as seen from Hodge dual point of view) in the case $N \geq 3$. We reconsider several ingredients of supergeometry, relevant for a sup...
March 3, 2016
We present few types of integral transforms and integral representations that are very useful for extending to supergeometry many familiar concepts of differential geometry. Among them we discuss the construction of the super Hodge dual, the integral representation of picture changing operators of string theories and the construction of the super-Liouville form of a symplectic supermanifold.
July 6, 2015
We discuss the cohomology of superforms and integral forms from a new perspective based on a recently proposed Hodge dual operator. We show how the superspace constraints (a.k.a. rheonomic parametrisation) are translated from the space of superforms $\Omega^{(p|0)}$ to the space of integral forms $\Omega^{(p|m)}$ where $0 \leq p \leq n$, $n$ is the bosonic dimension of the supermanifold and $m$ its fermionic dimension. We dwell on the relation between supermanifolds with non-...
August 31, 2014
Integral forms provide a natural and powerful tool for the construction of supergravity actions. They are generalizations of usual differential forms and are needed for a consistent theory of integration on supermanifolds. The group geometrical approach to supergravity and its variational principle are reformulated and clarified in this language. Central in our analysis is the Poincare' dual of a bosonic manifold embedded into a supermanifold. Finally, using integral forms we...
July 25, 2018
Inspired by superstring field theory, we study differential, integral, and inverse forms and their mutual relations on a supermanifold from a sheaf-theoretical point of view. In particular, the formal distributional properties of integral forms are recovered in this scenario in a geometrical way. Further, we show how inverse forms extend the ordinary de Rham complex on a supermanifold, thus providing a mathematical foundation of the Large Hilbert Space used in superstrings. L...
December 7, 2024
These are expanded notes for a short series of lectures, presented at the University of Luxembourg in 2017, giving an introduction to some of the ideas of supersymmetry and supergeometry. In particular, we start from some motivating facts in physics, pass to the theory of supermanifolds, then to spinors, ending up at super-Minkowski space-times. We examine some salient mathematical issues with understanding supersymmetry in a classical setting and make no attempt to discuss p...
June 15, 2004
An appropriate definition of the Hodge duality $\star$ operation on any arbitrary dimensional supermanifold has been a long-standing problem. We define a working rule for the Hodge duality $\star$ operation on the $(2 + 2)$-dimensional supermanifold parametrized by a couple of even (bosonic) spacetime variables $x^\mu (\mu = 0, 1)$ and a couple of Grassmannian (odd) variables $\theta$ and $\bar\theta$ of the Grassmann algebra. The Minkowski spacetime manifold, hidden in the s...
April 10, 2023
We develop the theory of Free Integro-Differential Algebras (FIDA) extending the powerful technique of Free Differential Algebras constructed by D. Sullivan. We extend the analysis beyond the superforms to integral- and pseudo-forms used in supergeometry. It is shown that there are novel structures that might open the road to a deeper understanding of the geometry of supergravity. We apply the technique to some models as an illustration and we provide a complete analysis for ...
June 2, 2020
The aim of these notes (which were partially covered in lectures given at the Peyresq Summer School on 17--22 June, 2002) is to give an introduction to some mathematical aspects of supersymmetry. Some (hopefully) original point of view are added, by using and developing some results in arXiv:math-ph/0603045, where maps of supermanifolds are analyzed in details and, also, in the presentation of the super Minkowski spaces in dimensions 3, 4, 6 and 10.
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We study relative differential and integral forms and their cohomology on families of supermanifolds and prove a relative version of Poincar\'e duality relating the cohomology of differential and integral forms in different geometric categories. In the smooth category, we complement Poincar\'e duality by proving the compactly supported Poincar\'e lemmas for both differential and integral forms, filling a gap in the literature. We then use our results to study supergravity. In...