The exceptional generalised geometry of supersymmetric AdS flux backgrounds

• Published in: The journal of high energy physics Vol. 2016; no. 12; pp. 1 - 37
• Main Authors: Ashmore, Anthony, Petrini, Michela, Waldram, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Classical and Quantum Gravitation; Contact; Elementary Particles; Encoding; Field theory; Flux; High energy physics; Killing; M theory; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum Field Theories; Quantum Field Theory; Quantum Physics; Regular Article - Theoretical Physics; Relativity Theory; String Theory; Symmetry; Texts; Flux compactifications; AdS-CFT Correspondence; Differential and Algebraic Geometry; M-Theory
• ISSN: 1029-8479; 1029-8479
• DOI: 10.1007/JHEP12(2016)146

A bstract We analyse generic AdS flux backgrounds preserving eight supercharges in D = 4 and D = 5 dimensions using exceptional generalised geometry. We show that they are described by a pair of globally defined, generalised structures, identical to those that appear for flat flux backgrounds but with different integrability conditions. We give a number of explicit examples of such “exceptional Sasaki-Einstein” backgrounds in type IIB supergravity and M-theory. In particular, we give the complete analysis of the generic AdS 5 M-theory backgrounds. We also briefly discuss the structure of the moduli space of solutions. In all cases, one structure defines a “generalised Reeb vector” that generates a Killing symmetry of the background corresponding to the R-symmetry of the dual field theory, and in addition encodes the generic contact structures that appear in the D = 4 M-theory and D = 5 type IIB cases. Finally, we investigate the relation between generalised structures and quantities in the dual field theory, showing that the central charge and R-charge of BPS wrapped-brane states are both encoded by the generalised Reeb vector, as well as discussing how volume minimisation (the dual of a - and ℱ -maximisation) is encoded.