Discrete anomalies in supergravity and consistency of string backgrounds

TL;DR

This paper investigates SL(2, Z) anomalies in supergravity theories and their implications for string background consistency, highlighting the role of composite connections and global properties in anomaly cancellation and compactification constraints.

Contribution

It provides new insights into anomaly cancellation mechanisms in supergravity and string theory, emphasizing the importance of global properties and composite connections.

Findings

Identification of SL(2, Z) anomalies in supergravity

Role of composite connections in anomaly cancellation

Global properties impose new consistency constraints

Abstract

We examine SL(2, Z) anomalies in ten and eight-dimensional supergravities, the induced local counterterms and their realization in string theory. Composite connections play an important role in the cancellation mechanism. At the same time their global properties lead to novel non-trivial consistency constraints on compactifications.