We study asymptotically flat stationary solutions of four-dimensional supergravity theories via the associated G/H ∗ pseudo-Riemannian non-linear sigma models in three spatial dimensions. The Noether charge C associated to G is shown to satisfy a characteristic equation that determines it as a function of the four-dimensional conserved charges. The matrix C is nilpotent for non-rotating extremal solutions. The nilpotency degree of C is directly related to the BPS degree of the corresponding solution when they are BPS. Equivalently, the charges can be described in terms of a Weyl spinor |C i of Spin ∗ (2N), and then the characteristic equation becomes equivalent to a generalisation of the Cartan pure spinor constraint on |C i . The invariance of a given solution with respect to supersymmetry is determined by an algebraic ‘Dirac equation’ on the Weyl spinor |C i . We explicitly solve this equation for all pure supergravity theories and we characterise the stratified structure of the moduli space of asymptotically Taub–NUT black holes with respect to their BPS degree. The analysis is valid for any asymptotically flat stationary solutions for which the singularities are protected by horizons. The H ∗ -orbits of extremal solutions are identified as Lagrangian submanifolds of nilpotent orbits of G, and so the moduli space of extremal spherically symmetric black holes is identified as a Lagrangian subvariety of the variety of nilpotent elements of g. We also generalise the notion of active duality transformations to an ‘almost action’ of the three-dimensional duality group G on asymptotically flat stationary solutions.

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Universal BPS structure of stationary supergravity solutions

The Full Integration of Black Hole Solutions to Symmetric Supergravity Theories

Stationary black holes of massless supergravity theories are described by certain geodesic curves on the target space that is obtained after dimensional reduction over time. When the target space is a symmetric coset space we make use of the group-theoretical structure to prove that the second order geodesic equations are integrable in the sense of Liouville, by explicitly constructing the correct amount of Hamiltonians in involution. This implies that the Hamilton-Jacobi formalism can be applied, which proves that all such black hole solutions, including non-extremal solutions, possess a description in terms of a (fake) superpotential. Furthermore, we improve the existing integration method by the construction of a Lax integration algorithm that integrates the second order equations in one step instead of the usual two step procedure. We illustrate this technology with a specific example

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Black holes in supergravity and integrability

We review the underlying algebraic structures of supergravity theories with symmetric scalar manifolds in five and four dimensions, orbits of their extremal black hole solutions and the spectrum generating extensions of their U-duality groups. For 5D, N = 2 Maxwell–Einstein supergravity theories (MESGT) defined by Euclidean Jordan algebras, J, the spectrum generating symmetry groups are the conformal groups Conf(J) of J which are isomorphic to their U-duality groups in four dimensions. Similarly, the spectrum generating symmetry groups of 4D, N = 2 MESGTs are the quasiconformal groups QConf(J) associated with J that are isomorphic to their U-duality groups in three dimensions. We then review the work on spectrum generating symmetries of spherically symmetric stationary 4D BPS black holes, based on the equivalence of their attractor equations and the equations for geodesic motion of a fiducial particle on the target spaces of corresponding 3D supergravity theories obtained by timelike reduction. We also discuss the connection between harmonic superspace formulation of 4D, N = 2 sigma models coupled to supergravity and the minimal unitary representations of their isometry groups obtained by quantizing their quasiconformal realizations. We discuss the relevance of this connection to spectrum generating symmetries and conclude with a brief summary of more recent results.

Lectures on Spectrum Generating Symmetries and U-duality in Supergravity, Extremal Black Holes, Quantum Attractors and Harmonic Superspace

These are notes of a series of lectures on mirror symmetry and topological string theory given at the Mathematical Sciences Center at Tsinghua University. The N=2 superconformal algebra, its deformations and its chiral ring are reviewed. A topological field theory can be constructed whose observables are only the elements of the chiral ring. When coupled to gravity, this leads to topological string theory. The identification of the topological string A- and B-models by mirror symmetry leads to surprising connections in mathematics and provides tools for exact computations as well as new insights in physics. A recursive construction of the higher genus amplitudes of topological string theory expressed as polynomials is reviewed.

Lectures on Mirror Symmetry and Topological String Theory

In these lecture notes, we review some recent developments on the relation between the macroscopic entropy of four-dimensional BPS black holes and the microscopic counting of states beyond the thermodynamical, large charge limit. After a brief overview of charged black holes in supergravity and string theory, we give an extensive introduction to special and very special geometry, attractor flows and topological string theory, including holomorphic anomalies. We then expose the Ooguri-Strominger-Vafa (OSV) conjecture which relates microscopic degeneracies to the topological string amplitude, and review precision tests of this formula on “small” black holes. Finally, motivated by a holographic interpretation of the OSV conjecture, we give a systematic approach to the radial quantization of BPS black holes (i.e. quantum attractors). This suggests the existence of a one-parameter generalization of the topological string amplitude and provides a general framework for constructing automorphic partition functions for black hole degeneracies in theories with sufficient degree of symmetry.

B. Pioline

Papers

Lectures on Black Holes, Topological Strings, and Quantum Attractors (2.0)