Warren Siegel

The exceptional symmetry is realized perturbatively in F-theory which is the manifest U-duality theory. The SO(5) U-duality symmetry acts on both the 16 space-time coordinates and the 10 worldvolume coordinates. Closure of the Virasoro algebra requires the Gauss law constraints on the worldvolume. This set of current algebras describes a F-theory 10-brane. The SO(5) duality symmetry is enlarged to the SO(6) symmetry in the Lagrangian formulation. We propose actions of the F-theory 10-brane with SO(5) and SO(6) symmetries. The gauge fields of the latter action are coset elements of SO(6)/SO(6; ℂ) which include both the SO(5)/SO(5; ℂ) spacetime backgrounds and the worldvolume backgrounds. The SO(5) current algebra obtained from the Pasti-Sorokin-Tonin M5-brane Lagrangian leads to the theory behind M-theory, namely F-theory. We also propose an action of the perturbative M-theory 5-brane obtained by sectioning the worldvolume of the F-theory 10-brane.

We describe the worldvolume for the bosonic sector of the lower-dimensional F-theory that embeds 5D, N=1 M-theory and the 4D type II superstring. This theory is a complexification of the fundamental 5-brane theory that embeds the 4D, N=1 M-theory of the 3D type II string in a sense that we make explicit at the level of the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations. We find three types of section condition: in spacetime, on the worldvolume, and one tying them together. The 5-brane theory is recovered from the new theory by a double dimensional reduction.

We consider, at the linearized level, the superspace formulation of lower-dimensional F-theory. In particular, we describe the embedding of 3D Type II super-gravity of the superstring, or 4D, N = 1 supergravity of M-theory, into the corresponding F-theory in full detail, giving the linearized action and gauge transformations in terms of the prepotential. This manifestly supersymmetric formulation reveals some features not evident from a component treatment, such as Weyl and local S-supersymmetry invariances. The linearized multiplet appears as a super 3-form (just as that for the manifestly T-dual theory is a super 2-form), reflecting the embedding of M-theory (as the T-dual theory embeds Type II supergravity). We also give the embedding of matter multiplets into this superspace, and derive the F-constraint from the gauge invariance of the gauge invariance.

We describe the worldvolume for the bosonic sector of the lower-dimensional F-theory that embeds 4D, N=1 M-theory and the 3D Type II superstring. The worldvolume (5-brane) theory is that of a single 6D gauge 2-form X_MN(σ^P) whose field strength is selfdual. Thus unlike string theory, the spacetime indices are tied to the worldsheet ones: in the Hamiltonian formalism, the spacetime coordinates are a 10 of the GL(5) of the 5 σ’s (neglecting τ). The current algebra gives a rederivation of the F-bracket. The background-independent subalgebra of the Virasoro algebra gives the usual section condition, while a new type of section condition follows from Gauß’s law, tying the worldvolume to spacetime: solving just the old condition yields M-theory, while solving only the new one gives the manifestly T-dual version of the string, and the combination produces the usual string. We also find a covariant form of the condition that dimensionally reduces the string coordinates.

We present superstring Lagrangians with manifest T-duality. The Lagrangian version of the section conditions are necessary to make Lagrangians to be general coordinate invariant. We show the general solution of section conditions. The D-dimensional left and right moving currents are the 2D-dimensional chiral current which causes the chiral boson problem. We solve the problem by adding the unphysical 2D-dimensional anti­selfdual current with the selfduality constraints. The Lagrange multipliers of the selfduality constraints play the role of the worldsheet zweibein allowing the Weyl invariant and Lorentz symmetric worldsheet. Doubling the zweibein makes the type II κ-symmetry splitting into two sets of the type It κ-symmetries.

We present the string Lagrangian with manifest T-duality. Not only zero-modes but also all string modes are doubled. The gravitational field is an O(D, D) gauge field. We give a Lagrangian version of the section condition for the gauge invariance which compensates the O(D, D) transformation from the gravitational field and the GL(2D) coordinate transformation. We also show the gauge invariance of the line element of the manifest T-duality space and the O(D, D) condition on the background. Different sections describe dual spaces.

F-theory requires a new Virasoro algebra, including $\kappa$-symmetry, with a worldvolume coordinate for each generator. (Similar is implied for the superstring.) Doubles of the spacetime coordinates are eliminated by selfduality, which now applies to all currents.