2007/02/08 by Figueroa-O'Farrill, José
#53-B30 #83-50 #Differential Geometry (math.DG) #FOS: Mathematics #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.math/0702205
I will discuss the emergence of lorentzian symmetric spaces as supersymmetric supergravity backgrounds. I will focus on supergravity theories in dimension 11, 10, and 6, and will concentrate on the determination of the so-called maximally supersymmetric backgrounds, for which a classification exists up to local isometry. A special class of lorentzian symmetric spaces also plays a role in the determination of parallelisable supergravity backgrounds in type II supergravity, which I will also summarise. (To appear in the proceedings of the programme "Geometry of pseudo-riemannian manifolds with application to physics", hosted by the Erwin Schroedinger International Institute for Mathematical Physics.)