Classification of p-branes, NUTs, Waves and Intersections

This review considers the properties of classical solutions to supergravity theories with partially unbroken supersymmetry. These solutions saturate Bogomol'ny-Prasad-Sommerfield bounds on their energy densities and are the carriers of the $p$-form charges that appear in the supersymmetry algebra. The simplest such solutions have the character of $(p+1)$-dimensional Poincar\'e-invariant hyperplanes in spacetime, i.e. $p$-branes. Topics covered include the relations between ma...

We present an exact analytic class of solutions for a system of two membranes in eleven-dimensional supergravity. One brane in the system is completely localized along the overall and relative transverse coordinates while the other brane in the system is localized only along the overall transverse coordinates. The membrane configuration preserves four supersymmetries. Moreover we find some approximate solutions for the system of two membranes with a Bianchi space as the overa...

We review an approach to the construction and classification of p-brane solitons in arbitrary dimensions, with an emphasis on those that arise in toroidally-compactified M-theory. Procedures for constructing the low-energy supergravity limits in arbitrary dimensions, and for studying the supersymmetry properties of the solitons are presented. Wide classes of p-brane solutions are obtained, and their properties and classification in terms of bound states and intersections of M...

We re-examine the classification of supersymmetric extended objects in the light of the recently discovered Type II p-branes, previously thought not to exist for p> 1. We find new points on the brane-scan only in D = 10 and then only for p = 3(Type IIB), p = 4 (Type IIA), p = 5 (Type IIA and IIB) and p = 6 (Type IIA). The case D = 10, p = 2 (Type IIA) also exists but is equivalent to the previously classified D = 11 supermembrane.

Generalized membrane solutions of D=11 supergravity, for which the transverse space is a toric hyper-K{\" a}hler manifold, are shown to have IIB duals representing the intersection of parallel 3-branes with 5-branes whose orientations are determined by their $Sl(2;\bZ)$ charge vectors. These IIB solutions, which generically preserve 3/16 of the supersymmetry, can be further mapped to solutions of D=11 supergravity representing the intersection of parallel membranes with any n...

We present a class of two-charged intersecting brane solutions of the D=11 supergravity, which contain the M2-brane, M5-brane, Kaluza-Klein monopole or Brinkmann wave as their building blocks. These solutions share the common feature that one charge is smeared out or uniform over all spatial directions occupied by the branes or waves, while the other charge is localized in them.

In extended supergravity theories there are $p$-brane solutions preserving different numbers of supersymmetries, depending on the charges, the spacetime dimension and the number of original supersymmetries (8, 16 or 32). We find U-duality invariant conditions on the quantized charges which specify the number of supersymmetries preserved with a particular charge configuration. These conditions relate U-duality invariants to the picture of intersecting branes. The analysis is c...

We study the Euclidean-signature supergravities that arise by compactifying D=11 supergravity or type IIB supergravity on a torus that includes the time direction. We show that the usual T-duality relation between type IIA and type IIB supergravities compactified on a spatial circle no longer holds if the reduction is performed on the time direction. Thus there are two inequivalent Euclidean-signature nine-dimensional maximal supergravities. They become equivalent upon furthe...

We classify (up to local isometry) the maximally supersymmetric solutions of the eleven- and ten-dimensional supergravity theories. We find that the AdS solutions, the Hpp-waves and the flat space solutions exhaust them.

We construct a family of supersymmetric solutions in time-dependent backgrounds in supergravity theories. One class of the solutions are intersecting brane solutions and another class are brane solutions in pp-wave backgrounds, and their intersection rules are also given. The relation to existing literature is also discussed. An example of D1-D5 with linear null dilaton together with its possible dual theory is briefly discussed.