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arXiv · 0806.3253

Multiple M2-Branes and Plane Waves

Matthias Blau·Martin O'Loughlin
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Abstract

We propose a natural generalisation of the BLG multiple M2-brane action to membranes in curved plane wave backgrounds, and verify in two different ways that the action correctly captures the non-trivial space-time geometry. We show that the M2 to D2 reduction of the theory along a non-trivial direction in field space is equivalent to the D2-brane world-volume Yang-Mills theory with a non-trivial (null-time dependent) dilaton in the corresponding IIA background geometry. As another consistency check of this proposal we show that the properties of metric 3-algebras ensure the equivalence of the Rosen coordinate version of this action (time-dependent metric on the space of 3-algebra valued scalar fields, no mass terms) and its Brinkmann counterpart (constant couplings but time-dependent mass terms). We also establish an analogous result for deformed Yang-Mills theories in any dimension which, in particular, demonstrates the equivalence of the Rosen and Brinkmann forms of the plane wave matrix string action.

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Matthias Blau, Martin O'Loughlin. 2008-08-25. Multiple M2-Branes and Plane Waves. https://doi.org/10.1088/1126-6708%2F2008%2F09%2F112

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