Search for Duality Symmetries in p-Brane Theories

We show that the SL(2,R) duality symmetry of type IIB superstring theory can be formulated as the canonical transformation interchanging momenta and magnetic degrees of freedom associated to the abelian world-volume gauge field of the D-3-brane. D-strings are shown to be connected under the corresponding transformation in the world-sheet to the (m,n) family of string solutions of type IIB supergravity constructed by Schwarz. For the type IIA superstring the D-2-brane is mappe...

It is shown that a supersymmetric and $\kappa$-symmetric D3-brane action on $AdS_5 \times S^5$ is mapped into itself by a duality transformaion, thereby verifying the $SL(2,Z)$ invariance of the D3-brane action in the $AdS_5 \times S^5$ background as in the flat background. To this end, we fix the $\kappa$-symmetry in a gauge which simplifies the classical action in order to perform an SO(2) rotation of the N=2 spinor index in a manifest way, though this may not be necessary....

The embedding of a $p$-brane into higher dimensional spacetime breaks not only translational symmetries transverse to the worldvolume, but also Lorentz symmetries. There exist formulations for $p$-brane actions which associate Goldstone bosons with the generators of the broken Lorentz symmetries. These Goldstone bosons are unphysical, in that they can be eliminated in favour of other Goldstone bosons either via their equations of motion or via the imposition of an inverse Hig...

We consider properties of a covariant worldvolume action for a system of N coincident Dp-branes in D=(p+2) dimensional space-time (so called codimension one branes). In the case of N coincident D0-branes in D=2 we then find a generalization of this action to a model which includes fermionic degrees of freedom and is invariant under target-space supersymmetry and worldline kappa-symmetry. We find that the type IIA D=2 superalgebra generating the supersymmetry transformations o...

In this series of lectures I present a review of the geometric structures of supergravity in diverse dimensions mostly relevant to p-brane physics and to pinpoint the correspondence between the macroscopic and microscopic description of branes. In particular I review duality transformations, coset manifold structures and the general steps involved by the process of gauging supergravity lagrangians both with respect to compact, non compact and non semisimple groups. I focus sp...

We examine duality transformations of supersymmetric and $\kappa$-symmetric Dp-brane actions in a general type II supergravity background where in particular the dilaton and the axion are supposed to not be zero or a constant but a general superfield. Due to non-constant dilaton and axion, we can explicitly show that the dilaton and the axion as well as the two 2-form gauge potentials transform as doublets under the $SL(2,R)$ transformation from the point of view of the world...

We study U-duality symmetries of toroidally compactified M theory from the membrane worldvolume point of view. This is done taking the most general set of bosonic background fields into account. Upon restriction to pure moduli backgrounds, we are able to find the correct U-duality groups and moduli coset parameterizations for dimensions D>6 as symmetries of the membrane worldvolume theory. In particular, we derive the D=8 U-duality group SL(2)xSL(3). For general background fi...

We study codimension one branes, i.e. p-branes in (p+2)-dimensions, in the superembedding approach for the cases where the worldvolume superspace is embedded in a minimal target superspace with half supersymmetry breaking. This singles out the cases p=1,2,3,5,9. For p=3,5,9 the superembedding geometry naturally involves a fundamental super 2-form potential on the worldvolume whose generalised field strength obeys a constraint deducible from considering an open supermembrane e...

The worldvolume field equations of M-branes and D-branes are known to admit p-brane soliton solutions. These solitons are shown to saturate a BPS-type bound on their p-volume tensions, which are expressed in terms of central charges that are expected to appear in the worldvolume supertranslation algebra. The cases we consider include vortices, `BIons', instantons and dyons (both abelian and non-abelian), and the string boundaries of M-2-branes in the M-5-brane.

We discuss dyons, charge quantization and electric-magnetic duality for self-interacting, abelian, p-form theories in the spacetime dimensions D=2(p+1) where dyons can be present. The corresponding quantization conditions and duality properties are strikingly different depending on whether p is odd or even. If p is odd one has the familiar eg'-ge'= 2nh, whereas for even p one finds the opposite relative sign, eg'+ge'= 2nh. These conditions are obtained by introducing Dirac st...