Search for Duality Symmetries in p-Brane Theories

We study the target-space duality transformations in $p$--branes as transformations which mix the worldvolume field equations with Bianchi identities. We consider an $(m+p+1)$-dimensional spacetime with $p+1$ dimensions compactified, and a particular form of the background fields. We find that while a $GL(2)=SL(2)\times R$ group is realized when $m=0$, only a two parameter group is realized when $m>0$.

We investigate possible existence of duality symmetries which exchange the Kaluza-Klein modes with the wrapping modes of a BPS saturated $p$-brane on a torus. Assuming the validity of the conjectured $U$-duality symmetries of type II and heterotic string theories and $M$-theory, we show that for a BPS saturated $p$-brane there is an SL(2,Z) symmetry that mixes the Kaluza-Klein modes on a $(p+1)$ dimensional torus $T^{(p+1)}$ with the wrapping modes of the $p$-brane on $T^{(p+...

We discuss an alternative form of the supersymmetric D-$p$-brane action which is quadratic in derivatives of $X$ and linear in $F_{\mu \nu}$. This action involves an auxiliary worldvolume tensor and generalises the simplification of the Nambu-Goto action for $p$-branes using a symmetric metric. When the worldvolume gauge field is abelian, it appears as a Lagrange multiplier, and solving the constraint gives the dual form of the ($p+1$)-dimensional action with a $p-2$ form gau...

It is shown how some field theories in the target-space induce the splitting of the space-time into a continuous of branes, which can be p-branes or D-branes depending on what the field theory it is. The basic symmetry underlying the construction is used to build an invariant action, which is proved to be off-shell identical to the p-brane (D-brane) action. The coupling with the abelian ($p+1$)-form in this formulation it is also found. While the classical brane's embedding c...

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 do...

We show how the $T$--duality between $D$--branes is realized (i) on $p$--brane solutions $(p=0,\cdots ,9)$ of IIA/IIB supergravity and (ii) on the $D$--brane actions ($p=0,\cdots ,3)$ that act as source terms for the $p$--brane solutions. We point out that the presence of a cosmological constant in the IIA theory leads, by the requirement of gauge invariance, to a topological mass term for the worldvolume gauge field in the 2--brane case.

Besides the familiar D-branes, string theory contains a vast number of other non-perturbative objects. While a complete classification is lacking, many of these objects are related to each other through various dualities. Codimension two objects play a special role, because their charges are no longer additive but are instead expressed in terms of holonomies of scalar fields, which is given by an element of the relevant duality group. In this paper we present a detailed expos...

Dual super Dp-brane actions are constructed by carrying out a duality transformation of the world-volume U(1) gauge field. The resulting world-volume actions, which contain a (p - 2)-form gauge field, are shown to have the expected properties. Specifically, the D1-brane and D3-brane transform in ways that can be understood on the basis of the SL(2, Z) duality of type IIB superstring theory. Also, the D2-brane and the D4-brane transform in ways that are expected on the basis o...

We propose a novel approach to the brane worldvolume theory based on the geometry of extended field theories: double field theory and exceptional field theory. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach by showing that one can reproduce the conventional bosonic string and membrane actions, and the M5-brane action in the weak-field approximation. At a glance, the proposed 5-brane action without approximation looks different from the known M5-brane actions, but it is con...

We study the vacuum partition functional Z [J] for a system of closed, bosonic p-branes coupled to p-forms in the limiting case: p+1 = space-time dimension. We suggest an extension of the duality transformation which can be applied to the limiting case even though no dual gauge potential exists in the conventional sense. The dual action thus obtained describes a current-current, static interaction within the bulk volume bounded by the d-1-brane. Guided by these results, we th...