M-theory and U-duality on Td with gauge backgrounds

N. A. Obers*, B. Pioline, E. Rabinovici

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

64 Scopus citations

Abstract

The full U-duality symmetry of toroidally compactified M-theory can only be displayed by allowing non-rectangular tori with expectation values of the gauge fields. We construct an Ed(ℤ) U-duality invariant mass formula incorporating non-vanishing gauge backgrounds of the M-theory three-form C. We interpret this mass formula from the point of view of the Matrix gauge theory, and identify the coupling of the three-form to the gauge theory as a topological theta term, in agreement with earlier conjectures. We give a derivation of this fact from D-brane analysis, and obtain the Matrix gauge theory description of other gauge backgrounds allowed by the Discrete Light-Cone Quantization. We further show that the conjectured extended U-duality symmetry of Matrix theory on Td in the Discrete Light-Cone Quantization has an implementation as an action of Ed+l(ℤ) on the BPS spectrum. Some implications for the proper interpretation of the rank N of the Matrix gauge theory are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)163-181
Number of pages19
JournalNuclear Physics B
Volume525
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - 10 Aug 1998

Keywords

  • BPS spectrum
  • M-theory
  • Matrix theory
  • String theory
  • T-duality
  • U-duality

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