Eleven dimensional supergravity as a constrained topological field theory

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel first-order formulation of eleven-dimensional supergravity, demonstrating its emergence from a topological field theory constrained by local conditions, with the algebra of constraints realizing supersymmetry with central charges.

Contribution

It introduces a new formulation linking D=11 supergravity to a topological field theory through local constraints and Lagrange multipliers, highlighting the algebraic structure of supersymmetry.

Findings

Supergravity derived from topological field theory

Constraints realize D=11 supersymmetry algebra

Central charges incorporated in the algebra

Abstract

We describe a new first-order formulation of D=11 supergravity which shows that that theory can be understood to arise from a certain topological field theory by the imposition of a set of local constraints on the fields, plus a lagrange multiplier term. The topological field theory is of interest as the algebra of its constraints realizes the D=11 supersymmetry algebra with central charges.