https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-018-5673-8
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Hidden role of Maxwell superalgebras in the free differential algebras of D = 4 and D = 11 supergravity
INFN, Sezione di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133, Milan, Italy
* e-mail: lucrezia.ravera@mi.infn.it
Received:
6
February
2018
Accepted:
23
February
2018
Published online:
13
March
2018
The purpose of this paper is to show that the so-called Maxwell superalgebra in four dimensions, which naturally involves the presence of a nilpotent fermionic generator, can be interpreted as a hidden superalgebra underlying 
supergravity extended to include a 2-form gauge potential associated to a 2-index antisymmetric tensor. In this scenario, the theory is appropriately discussed in the context of Free Differential Algebras (an extension of the Maurer–Cartan equations to involve higher-degree differential forms). The study is then extended to the Free Differential Algebra describing 
supergravity, showing that, also in this case, there exists a super-Maxwell algebra underlying the theory. The same extra spinors dual to the nilpotent fermionic generators whose presence is crucial for writing a supersymmetric extension of the Maxwell algebras, both in the 
and in the case, turn out to be fundamental ingredients also to reproduce the and Free Differential Algebras on ordinary superspace, whose basis is given by the supervielbein. The analysis of the gauge structure of the supersymmetric Free Differential Algebras is carried on taking into account the gauge transformations from the hidden supergroup-manifold associated with the Maxwell superalgebras.
© The Author(s), 2018
