Unifying R-symmetry in M-theory

Abstract

In this contribution we address the following question: Is there a group with a fermionic presentation which unifies all the physical gravitini and dilatini of the maximal supergravity theories in D=10 and D=11 (without introducing new degrees of freedom)? The affirmative answer relies on a new mathematical object derived from the theory of Kac--Moody algebras, notably E10. It can also be shown that in this way not only the spectrum but also dynamical aspects of all supergravity theories can be treated uniformly.

17 pages. Proceedings of ICMP 2006