Hidden Symmetries, Central Charges and All That

TL;DR

This review explores hidden symmetries in supergravity compactifications, their relation to M-theory, and proposes a new geometric framework suggesting extended spacetime dimensions beyond eleven.

Contribution

It introduces a broader perspective on supergravity symmetries, incorporating massive states and proposing an extended geometric structure for M-theory.

Findings

Hidden symmetries persist with massive Kaluza-Klein states.

Extended geometry may involve more than eleven dimensions.

Connections between supergravity, M-theory, and new geometric ideas.

Abstract

In this review we discuss hidden symmetries of toroidal compactifications of eleven-dimensional supergravity. We recall alternative versions of this theory which exhibit traces of the hidden symmetries when still retaining the massive Kaluza-Klein states. We reconsider them in the broader perspective of M-theory which incorporates a more extended variety of BPS states. We also argue for a new geometry that may underly these theories. All our arguments point towards an extension of the number of space-time coordinates beyond eleven.