Lifting M-theory to Two-Time Physics

TL;DR

This paper proposes unifying M-theory's diverse supersymmetries within a larger symmetry group, OSp(1/64), by extending to a two-time physics framework in 13D, revealing hidden symmetries and connecting various dual formulations.

Contribution

It introduces a 13D two-time physics model with manifest OSp(1/64) supersymmetry that unifies M-theory's different dualities and supersymmetries.

Findings

Constructed a toy M-model in 13D with OSp(1/64) symmetry.

Demonstrated gauge fixing to recover 11D, 10D, and AdS backgrounds.

Identified new local symmetries including bosonic kappa-like symmetries.

Abstract

M-theory has different global supersymmetry structures in its various dual incarnations, as characterized by the M-algebra in 11D, the type IIA, type-IIB, heterotic, type-I extended supersymmetries in 10D, and non-Abelian supersymmetries in the AdS_n x S^m backgrounds. We show that all of these supersymmetries are unified within the supersymmetry OSp(1/64), thus hinting that the overall global spacetime symmetry of M-theory is OSp(1/64). We suggest that the larger symmetries contained within OSp(1/64) which go beyond the familiar symmetries, are non-linearly realized hidden symmetries of M-theory. These can be made manifest by lifting 11D M-theory to the formalism of two-time physics in 13D by adding gauge degrees of freedom. We illustrate this idea by constructing a toy M-model on the worldline in 13D with manifest OSp(1/64) global supersymmetry, and a number of new local symmetries that remove ghosts. Some of the local symmetries are bosonic cousins of kappa supersymmetries. The model contains 0-superbrane and p-forms (for p=3,6) as degrees of freedom. The gauge symmetries can be fixed in various ways to come down to a one time physics model in 11D, 10D, AdS_n x S^m, etc., such that the linearly realized part of OSp(1/64) is the global symmetry of the various dual sectors of M-theory.