SO(2) symmetry of a Maxwell p-form theory

TL;DR

This paper uncovers a universal SO(2) symmetry in p-form Maxwell theories, revealing new transformations for even p and relating these symmetries to the structure of the quantization conditions for p-brane dyons.

Contribution

It identifies a universal SO(2) symmetry in p-form Maxwell theories, including new transformations for even p, and links these to the canonical transformations of the theory.

Findings

For odd p, the symmetry corresponds to duality rotations.

For even p, a new set of transformations is identified.

The symmetry group forms a subgroup of O(2,1) with a natural quantization representation.

Abstract

We find a universal SO(2) symmetry of a p-form Maxwell theory for both odd and even p. For odd p it corresponds to the duality rotations but for even p it defines a new set of transformations which is not related to duality rotations. In both cases a symmetry group defines a subgroup of the O(2,1) group of R-linear canonical transformations which has also a natural representation on the level of quantization condition for p-brane dyons.