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Abstract

The role of duality symmetries in the construction of counterterms for maximal supergravity theories is discussed in a field-theoretic context from different points of view. These are: dimensional reduction, the question of whether appropriate superspace measures exist and information about non-linear invariants that can be gleaned from linearised ones. In D=4, N=8 supergravity we find that all three of these arguments suggest that F-term counterterms cannot be E7(7)-invariant and that the theory should be finite up to seven loops as a consequence. We also argue that N=6 supergravity is finite at three and four loops and that N=5 supergravity should be three-loop finite.