We show that the supergeometry of the new minimal formulation of N = 1 supergravity is a limiting case of the non-minimal supergeometry for which the volume of superspace vanishes. The action for supergravity in this case is then no longer the superdeterminant of the vielbein but is analogous to a special form of the Fayet-Iliopoulos term allowed o...
We present a unified group-theoretical framework for superparticle theories. This explains the origin of the “twistor-like” variables that have been used in trading the superparticle's κ-symmetry for world-line supersymmetry. We show that these twistor-like variables naturally parametrise the coset space , where is the Lorentz group SO↑ (1, d−1) an...
We study the spectrum of W3 string. In particular, we show that for appropriately chosen space-time signature, one of the scalar fields is singled out by the spin-3 constraint and is “frozen”: no creation operators from it can appear in physical states and the corresponding momentum must assume a specific fixed value. The remaining theory is unitar...
We construct the low-lying discrete states of the two-scalar W3 string. This includes states that correspond to the analogues of the ground ring generators of the ordinary two-dimensional string. These give rise to infinite towers of discrete states at higher levels.
We investigate the spectrum of physical states in the W3 string theory, up to level 2 for a multiscalar string, and up to level 4 for the two-scalar string. The (open) W3 string has a photon as its only massless state. By using screening charges to study the null physical states in the two-scalar W3 string, we are able to learn about the gauge symm...
We consider, for p odd, a p-brane coupled to a (p + 1)th-rank background antisymmetric tensor field and to background Yang-Mills (YM) fields via a Wess-Zumino term. We obtain the generators of antisymmetric tensor and Yang-Mills gauge transformations acting on p-brane wave functionals (functions on . The Yang-Mills generators do not form a closed a...
We reformulate the BRST quantisation of chiral Virasoro and W3 worldsheet gravities. Our approach follows directly the classic BRST formulation of Yang-Mills theory in employing a derivative gauge condition instead of the conventional conformal gauge condition, supplemented by an introduction of momenta in order to put the ghost action back into fi...
We investigate new realisations of the W3 algebra with arbitrary central charge, making use of the fact that this algebra can be linearised by the inclusion of a spin-1 current. We use the new realisations with c = 102 and c = 100 to build non-critical and critical W3 BRST operators. Both of these can be converted by local canonical transformations...
The elementary and solitonic supersymmetric p-brane solutions to supergravity theories form families related by dimensional reduction, each headed by a maximal (‘stainless’) member that cannot be isotropically dimensionally oxidized into higher dimensions. We find several new families, headed by stainless solutions in various dimensions D ⩽ 9. In s...
