Double field theory (DFT) is a proposal to incorporate T-duality, a distinctive symmetry of string theory, as a symmetry of a field theory defined on a double configuration space. The aim of this review is to provide a pedagogical presentation of DFT and its applications. We first introduce some basic ideas on T-duality and supergravity in order to proceed to the construction of generalized diffeomorphisms and an invariant action on the double space. Steps towards the construction of a geometry on the double space are discussed. We then address generalized Scherk–Schwarz compactifications of DFT and their connection to gauged supergravity and flux compactifications. We also discuss U-duality extensions and present a brief parcours on worldsheet approaches to DFT. Finally, we provide a summary of other developments and applications that are not discussed in detail in the review.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0264-9381/30/16/163001/pdf

Double field theory: a pedagogical review

We investigate the generalised diffeomorphisms in M-theory, which are gauge transformations unifying diffeomorphisms and tensor gauge transformations. After giving an En(n)-covariant description of the gauge transformations and their commutators, we show that the gauge algebra is infinitely reducible, i.e., the tower of ghosts for ghosts is infinite. The Jacobiator of generalised diffeomorphisms gives such a reducibility transformation. We give a concrete description of the ghost structure, and demonstrate that the infinite sums give the correct (regularised) number of degrees of freedom. The ghost towers belong to the sequences of rep- resentations previously observed appearing in tensor hierarchies and Borcherds algebras. All calculations rely on the section condition, which we reformulate as a linear condition on the cotangent directions. The analysis holds for n < 8. At n = 8, where the dual gravity field becomes relevant, the natural guess for the gauge parameter and its reducibility still yields the correct counting of gauge parameters.

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The gauge structure of generalised diffeomorphisms

We show that generalised geometry gives a unified description of bosonic eleven-dimensional supergravity restricted to a d-dimensional manifold for all d ≤ 7. The theory is based on an extended tangent space which admits a natural \( {E_d}_{(d)}\times {{\mathbb{R}}^{+}} \) action. The bosonic degrees of freedom are unified as a “generalised metric”, as are the diffeomorphism and gauge symmetries, while the local O(d) symmetry is promoted to Hd, the maximally compact subgroup of Ed(d). We introduce the analogue of the Levi-Civita connection and the Ricci tensor and show that the bosonic action and equations of motion are simply given by the generalised Ricci scalar and the vanishing of the generalised Ricci tensor respectively. The formalism also gives a unified description of the bosonic NSNS and RR sectors of type II supergravity in d − 1 dimensions. Locally the formulation also describes M-theory variants of double field theory and we derive the corresponding section condition in general dimension. We comment on the relation to other approaches to M theory with Ed(d) symmetry, as well as the connections to flux compactifications and the embedding tensor formalism.

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\( {E_d}_{(d)}\times {{\mathbb{R}}^{+}} \) generalised geometry, connections and M theory

We present a first-principles derivation of the main results of the Kerr/CFT correspondence and its extensions using only tools from gravity and quantum field theory, filling a few gaps in the literature when necessary. Firstly, we review properties of extremal black holes that imply, according to semi-classical quantization rules, that their near-horizon quantum states form a centrally-extended representation of the one-dimensional conformal group. This motivates the conjecture that the extremal Kerr and Reissner-Nordstrom black holes are dual to the chiral limit of a two-dimensional CFT. We also motivate the existence of an SL(2, ℤ) family of two-dimensional CFTs, which describe in their chiral limit the extremal Kerr-Newman black hole. We present generalizations in anti-de Sitter spacetime and discuss other matter-coupling and higher-derivative corrections. Secondly, we show how a near-chiral limit of these CFTs reproduces the dynamics of near-superradiant probes around near-extremal black holes in the semi-classical limit. Thirdly, we review how the hidden conformal symmetries of asymptotically-flat black holes away from extremality, combined with their properties at extremality, allow for a microscopic accounting of the entropy of non-extremal asymptotically-flat rotating or charged black holes. We conclude with a list of open problems.

/pdf/the-kerr-cft-correspondence-and-its-extensions-225i6mrj3m.pdf

The Kerr/CFT Correspondence and its Extensions

This paper reviews the properties and applications of certain n-ary generalizations of Lie algebras in a self-contained and unified way. These generalizations are algebraic structures in which the two entries Lie bracket has been replaced by a bracket with n entries. Each type of n-ary bracket satisfies a specific characteristic identity which plays the role of the Jacobi identity for Lie algebras. Particular attention will be paid to generalized Lie algebras, which are defined by even multibrackets obtained by antisymmetrizing the associative products of its n components and that satisfy the generalized Jacobi identity, and to Filippov (or n-Lie) algebras, which are defined by fully antisymmetric n-brackets that satisfy the Filippov identity. Three-Lie algebras have surfaced recently in multi-brane theory in the context of the Bagger-Lambert- Gustavsson model. Because of this, Filippov algebras will be discussed at length, including the cohomology complexes that govern their central extensions and their deformations (it turns out that Whitehead's lemma extends to all semisimple n-Lie algebras). When the skewsymmetry of the Lie or n-Lie algebra bracket is relaxed, one is led to a more general type of n-algebras, the n-Leibniz algebras. These will be discussed as well, since they underlie the cohomological properties of n-Lie algebras. The standard Poisson structure may also be extended to the n-ary case. We shall review here the even generalized Poisson structures, whose generalized Jacobi identity reproduces the pattern of the generalized Lie algebras, and the Nambu-Poisson structures, which satisfy the Filippov identity and determine Filippov algebras. Finally, the recent work of Bagger-Lambert and Gustavsson on superconformal Chern-Simons theory will be briefly discussed. Emphasis will be made on the appearance of the 3-Lie algebra structure and on why the A4 model may be formulated in terms of an ordinary Lie algebra, and on its Nambu bracket generalization.

https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/26610/1/algebras.pdf

n-ary algebras: a review with applications

We introduce an infinite-dimensional Lie superalgebra which is an extension of the U-duality Lie algebra of maximal supergravity in D dimensions, for 3 ⩽ D ⩽ 7. The level decomposition with respect to the U-duality Lie algebra gives exactly the tensor hierarchy of representations that arises in gauge deformations of the theory described by an embedding tensor, for all positive levels p. We prove that these representations are always contained in those coming from the associated Borcherds-Kac-Moody superalgebra, and we explain why some of the latter representations are not included in the tensor hierarchy. The most remarkable feature of our Lie superalgebra is that it does not admit a triangular decomposition like a (Borcherds-)Kac-Moody (super)algebra. Instead the Hodge duality relations between level p and D − 2 − p extend to negative p, relating the representations at the first two negative levels to the supersymmetry and closure constraints of the embedding tensor.

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The tensor hierarchy algebra

We construct finite- and infinite-dimensional non-relativistic extensions of the Newton-Hooke and Carroll (A)dS algebras using the algebra expansion method, starting from the (anti-)de Sitter relativistic algebra in D dimensions. These algebras are also shown to be embedded in different affine Kac-Moody algebras. In the three-dimensional case, we construct Chern-Simons actions invariant under these symmetries. This leads to a sequence of non-relativistic gravity theories, where the simplest examples correspond to extended Newton-Hooke and extended (post-)Newtonian gravity together with their Carrollian counterparts.

/pdf/newton-hooke-carrollian-expansions-of-a-ds-and-chern-simons-5ykg5bzb6k.pdf

Newton-Hooke/Carrollian expansions of (A)dS and Chern-Simons gravity

The three-algebras used by Bagger and Lambert in N = 6 theories of ABJM type are in one-to-one correspondence with a certain type of Lie superalgebras. We show that the description of three-algebras as generalized Jordan triple systems naturally leads to this correspondence. Furthermore, we show that simple three-algebras correspond to simple Lie superalgebras, and vice versa. This gives a classification of simple three-algebras from the well-known classification of simple Lie superalgebras.

/pdf/three-algebras-triple-systems-and-3-graded-lie-superalgebras-12cq873qt1.pdf

Three-algebras, triple systems and 3-graded Lie superalgebras

Gauge deformations of maximal supergravity in D = 11 − n dimensions generically give rise to a tensor hierarchy of p-form fields that transform in specific representations of the global symmetry group E
 n
 . We derive the formulas defining the hierarchy from a Borcherds superalgebra corresponding to E
 n
 . This explains why the E
 n
 representations in the tensor hierarchies also appear in the level decomposition of the Borcherds superalgebra. We show that the indefinite Kac-Moody algebra E
 11 can be used equivalently to determine these representations, up to p = D, and for arbitrarily large p if E
 11 is replaced by E
 r
 with sufficiently large rank r.

Tensor hierarchies, Borcherds algebras and E11

We construct generalised diffeomorphisms for E9 exceptional field theory. The trans- formations, which like in the E8 case contain constrained local transformations, close when acting on fields. This is the first example of a generalised diffeomorphism alge- bra based on an infinite-dimensional Lie algebra and an infinite-dimensional coordi- nate module. As a byproduct, we give a simple generic expression for the invariant tensors used in any extended geometry. We perform a generalised Scherk–Schwarz reduction and verify that our transformations reproduce the structure of gauged supergravity in two dimensions. The results are valid also for other affine algebras.

Jakob Palmkvist

Papers

The tensor hierarchy algebra

Newton-Hooke/Carrollian expansions of (A)dS and Chern-Simons gravity

Three-algebras, triple systems and 3-graded Lie superalgebras

Tensor hierarchies, Borcherds algebras and E11

Generalized diffeomorphisms for $E_9$