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arXiv · 1906.07094

Duality invariant self-interactions of abelian p-forms in arbitrary dimensions

Ginevra Buratti·Kurt Lechner·Luca Melotti
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Abstract

We analyze non-linear interactions of 2N-form Maxwell fields in a space-time of dimension D=4N. Based on the Pasti-Sorokin-Tonin (PST) method, we derive the general consistency condition for the dynamics to respect both manifest SO(2)-duality invariance and manifest Lorentz invariance. For a generic dimension D=4N, we determine a canonical class of exact solutions of this condition, which represent a generalization of the known non-linear duality invariant Maxwell theories in D=4. The resulting theories are shown to be equivalent to a corresponding class of canonical theories formulated a la Gaillard-Zumino-Gibbons-Rasheed (GZGR), where duality is a symmetry only of the equations of motion. In dimension D=8, via a complete solution of the PST consistency condition, we derive new non-canonical manifestly duality invariant quartic interactions. Correspondingly, we construct new non-trivial quartic interactions also in the GZGR approach, and establish their equivalence with the former. In the presence of charged dyonic p-brane sources, we reveal a basic physical inequivalence of the two approaches. The power of our method resides in its universal character, reducing the construction of non-linear duality invariant Maxwell theories to a purely algebraic problem.

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Ginevra Buratti, Kurt Lechner, Luca Melotti. 2019-09-02. Duality invariant self-interactions of abelian p-forms in arbitrary dimensions. https://doi.org/10.1007/jhep09(2019)022

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