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High Energy Physics - Theory, hep-th
Abstract:
Motivated by the fact that there exists a continuous one-parameter family of
gauged SO(8) supergravities, possible eleven-dimensional origins of this
phenomenon are explored. Taking the original proof of the consistency of the
truncation of 11D supergravity to SO(8) gauged supergravity as a starting
point, a number of critical issues is discussed, such as the preferred
electric-magnetic duality frame in four dimensions and the existence of dual
magnetic gauge fields and related quantities in eleven dimensions. Some of
those issues are resolved but others seem to point to obstructions in embedding
the continuous degeneracy in 11D supergravity. While the final outcome of these
efforts remains as yet inconclusive, several new results are obtained. Among
those is the full non-linear ansatz for the seven-dimensional flux expressed in
terms of the scalars and pseudoscalars of 4D supergravity, valid for both the
S^7 and the T^7 truncations without resorting to tensor-scalar duality.
