Octonions and M-theory

The octonions are the largest of the four normed division algebras. While somewhat neglected due to their nonassociativity, they stand at the crossroads of many interesting fields of mathematics. Here we describe them and their relation to Clifford algebras and spinors, Bott periodicity, projective and Lorentzian geometry, Jordan algebras, and the exceptional Lie groups. We also touch upon their applications in quantum logic, special relativity and supersymmetry.

In this paper we review the topological model for the quaternions based upon the Dirac string trick. We then extend this model, to create a model for the octonions - the non-associative generalization of the quaternions.

Following [1] we further apply the octonionic structure to supersymmetric D=11 $M$-theory. We consider the octonionic $2^{n+1} \times 2^{n+1}$ Dirac matrices describing the sequence of Clifford algebras with signatures ($9+n,n$) ($n=0,1,2, ...$) and derive the identities following from the octonionic multiplication table. The case $n=1$ ($4\times 4$ octonion-valued matrices) is used for the description of the D=11 octonionic $M$ superalgebra with 52 real bosonic charges; the ...

We study holonomy groups coming from F-theory compactifications. We focus mainly on SO(8) as 12-4=8 and subgroups SU(4), Spin(7), G2 and SU(3) suitable for descent from F-theory, M-theory and Superstring theories. We consider the relation of these groups with the octonions, which is striking and reinforces their role in higher dimensions and dualities. These holonomy groups are related in various mathematical forms, which we exhibit.

In considering the nature of the basic mathematical structures appropriate for describing the fundamental elements of particle physics a significant role for the octonions, as an extension from the complex numbers and uniquely the largest division algebra, has occasionally been proposed. Rather than being based initially upon the more abstract grounds of mathematical aesthetics, here we describe a unified theory motivated conceptually through an elementary generalisation of t...

We present a nonlinear realization of E_8 on a space of 57 dimensions, which is quasiconformal in the sense that it leaves invariant a suitably defined ``light cone'' in 57 dimensions. This realization, which is related to the Freudenthal triple system associated with the unique exceptional Jordan algebra over the split octonions, contains previous conformal realizations of the lower rank exceptional Lie groups on generalized space times, and in particular a conformal realiza...

We describe the set of generalized Poincare and conformal superalgebras in D=4,5 and 7 dimensions as two sequences of superalgebraic structures, taking values in the division algebras R, C and H. The generalized conformal superalgebras are described for D=4 by OSp(1;8| R), for D=5 by SU(4,4;1) and for D=7 by U_\alpha U(8;1|H). The relation with other schemes, in particular the framework of conformal spin (super)algebras and Jordan (super)algebras is discussed. By extending th...

In this work we present a useful way to introduce the octonionic projective and hyperbolic plane through the use of Veronese vectors. Then we focus on their relation with the exceptional Jordan algebra and show that the Veronese vectors are the rank-one elements of the algebra. We then study groups of motions over the octonionic plane recovering all real forms of G2, F4and E6 groups and finally give a classification of all octonionic and split-octonionic planes as symmetric s...

We describe space-time using split octonions over the reals and use their group of automorphisms, the non-compact form of Cartan's exceptional Lie group G2, as the main geometrical group of the model. Connections of the G2-rotations of octonionic 8D space with the conformal transformations in 4D Minkowski space-time are studied. It is shown that the dimensional constant needed in these analysis naturally gives the observed value of the cosmological constant.

In this thesis we study algebraic structures in M-theory, in particular the exceptional Lie algebras arising in dimensional reduction of its low energy limit, eleven-dimensional supergravity. We focus on e8 and its infinite-dimensional extensions e9 and e10. We review the dynamical equivalence, up to truncations on both sides, between eleven-dimensional supergravity and a geodesic sigma model based on the coset E10/K(E10), where K(E10) is the maximal compact subgroup. The des...