M-brane intersections from worldvolume superalgebras
Eric Bergshoeff, Joaquim Gomis, Paul K. Townsend
TL;DR
The paper addresses how M-branes and their intersections are encoded in worldvolume supersymmetry algebras by mapping brane charges to $p$-form charges in both spacetime and worldvolume algebras. It systematically derives all $1/4$-supersymmetric M-brane intersections from the five basic M-branes via their worldvolume $p$-form charges, and shows that triple intersections can be captured by algebras with $8$ supercharges, albeit with interpretational ambiguities. The authors provide explicit classifications for M-wave, M-2, M-5, KK-monopole, and M-9-brane intersections, including reductions to D-brane configurations, and illustrate how triple intersections arise in Type IIB and iib contexts. Overall, the work presents a unified algebraic framework linking worldvolume charges to spacetime brane intersections, suggesting a path toward systematic classification of higher-order, orthogonal brane intersections in M-theory.
Abstract
It is known that the M-branes of M-theory correspond to p-form charges in the D=11 spacetime supersymmetry algebra. Here we show that their intersections are encoded in the p-form charges of their worldvolume supersymmetry algebras. Triple intersections are encoded in double intersection worldvolume algebras with eight supercharges.