Coupling constants and brane tensions from anomaly cancellation in M-theory

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The theory of eleven dimensional supergravity on ℝ10 × S1/ℤ2 with super Yang-Mills theory on the boundaries is reconsidered. We analyse the general solution of the modified Bianchi identity for the four-form field strength using the equations of motion for the three-form and find that the four-form field strength has a unique value on the boundaries of ℝ10 × S1/ℤ2. Considering the local supersymmetry in the "downstairs" approach this leads to a relation between the eleven dimensional supergravity coupling constants in the "upstairs" and "downstairs" approaches. Moreover, it is shown using flux quantization that the brane tensions only have their standard form in the "downstairs" units. We consider the gauge variation of the classical theory and find that it cannot be gauge invariant, contrary to a recent claim. Finally we consider anomaly cancellation in the "downstairs" and "upstairs" approaches and obtain the values of λ64 and the two-and five-brane tensions.

Original languageEnglish
JournalPhysics Letters B: Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics and Cosmology
Volume431
Issue number3-4
Pages (from-to)295-302
Number of pages8
ISSN0370-2693
Publication statusPublished - 16 Jul 1998

ID: 124899917