Tuesday, February 1, 2022 - 13:45
HU Berlin, Institut für Physik, IRIS-Haus
Zum Großen Windkanal 2, 12489 Berlin-Adlershof, Raum 1'021, https://hu-berlin.zoom.us/j/61686623112
Hybrid seminar: Algebra, Geometry and Physics (HU Berlin/MPIM Bonn)
Maximal supergravity theories in 10 and 11 dimensions, which are the low-energy limits of string and M-theory, exhibit rich and surprising mathematical features. Notably, upon dimensional reduction of d space-like dimensions they exhibit symmetries under the exceptional groups $E_{d(d)}$. These symmetries were completely mysterious from the viewpoint of the original theory. I introduce a framework called "exceptional field theory" that explains these symmetries. It is based on a novel kind of geometry, in which the diffeomorphism invariance underlying general relativity is unified with various "higher-form" symmetries. I elaborate on the higher algebraic structures that these generalized diffeomorphisms display, including Lie-infinity and Leibniz-Loday algebras.
submitted by Gaetan Borot (gaetan.borot@hu-berlin.de)