Abstract Some time ago, we showed that a weak (linear) massless spin two wave could only propagate on Ricci-flat or Ricci-constant background: it must necessarily be perturbation of general relativity. This was just the continuation higher chain: s = 3/2 also required Ricci-flatness (which is basis supergravity) while > 2 needs Riemann flatness. note, entitled ‘higher m ≠ 0 excitations curve...

The four six–dimensional “little string” theories are all described in the infinite momentum frame (IMF) as matrix theories by non–trivial 1+1 dimensional infra–red fixed points. We characterize these fixed points using supergravity. Starting from the matrix theory definition of M5–branes, we derive an associated dual supergravity description of the fixed point theories, arising as the near hor...

Spinning black three-branes in type IIB supergravity are thermodynamically stable up to a critical value of the angular momentum density. Inside the region of thermodynamic stability, the free energy from supergravity is roughly reproduced by a naive model based on free N = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory on the world-volume. The field theory model correctly predicts a limit on angular momentum densi...

The light-like linear dilaton background presents a simple time dependent solution of type II supergravity equations of motion that preserves 1/2 supersymmetry in ten dimensions. We construct supergravity D-brane solutions in a linear dilaton background starting from the known intersecting brane solutions in string theory. By applying a Penrose limit on the intersecting (NS1−NS5− NS5)brane solu...

We present detailed analyses of the 3-body interactions of D-particles from both sides of 11 dimensional supergravity and Matrix theory. In supergravity, we derive a complete expression for the classical bosonic effective action for D-particles including two-and threebody interaction terms. In Matrix theory, we compute 1-particle irreducible contributions to the eikonal phase shift in the two-l...

In this paper we study K3 compactification of ten-dimensional massive type IIA theory with all possible Ramond-Ramond background fluxes turned on. The resulting six-dimensional theory is a new massive (gauged) supergravity with an action that is manifestly invariant under an O(4, 20)/O(4) × O(20) duality symmetry. We discover that this six-dimensional theory interpolates between vacua of ten-di...