Duality and higher Buscher rules in p-form gauge theory and linearized gravity
arXiv:2012.08220 · doi:10.1002/prop.202000135
Abstract
We perform an in-depth analysis of the transformation rules under duality for couplings of theories containing multiple scalars, -form gauge fields, linearized gravitons or mixed symmetry tensors. Following a similar reasoning to the derivation of the Buscher rules for string background fields under T-duality, we show that the couplings for all classes of aforementioned multi-field theories transform according to one of two sets of duality rules. These sets comprise the ordinary Buscher rules and their higher counterpart; this is a generic feature of multi-field theories in spacetime dimensions where the field strength and its dual are of the same degree. Our analysis takes into account topological theta terms and generalized -fields, whose behavior under duality is carefully tracked. For a 1-form or a graviton in 4D, this reduces to the inversion of the complexified coupling or generalized metric under electric/magnetic duality. Moreover, we write down an action for linearized gravity in the presence of -term from which we obtain previously suggested on-shell duality and double duality relations. This also provides an explanation for the origin of theta in the gravitational duality relations as a specific additional sector of the linearized gravity action.
34 pages
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