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Hermann Nicolai

Publications and source records attributed to Hermann Nicolai.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Planck mass gravitinos in Einstein-Maxwell backgrounds

Charged massive spin-3/2 fields have long been regarded as problematic, because their coupling to electromagnetism generically leads to loss of hyperbolicity, acausal propagation and loss of unitarity. At the same time, fractionally charged supermassive gravitinos play a central role in a recent proposal of two of the present authors, where they are the only fermionic degrees of freedom beyond the Standard Model and provide novel dark matter candidates. We address this apparent tension by revisiting the result of Deser and Waldron, who showed that the inclusion of gravity can compensate the electromagnetic source of the inconsistency. For a minimally coupled Rarita-Schwinger field in an Einstein-Maxwell background, consistency requires a lower bound on the mass in terms of the charge and the cosmological constant. What is usually a severe obstruction to low-energy charged spin-3/2 phenomenology becomes an independent indication that such particles must lie close to the Planck scale, as argued by two of the present authors on other grounds. We rederive the inequality from the solvability of the Rarita-Schwinger constraints and from the characteristic determinant, emphasizing how the Einstein-Maxwell stress tensor compensates the purely electromagnetic pathology. We then reformulate the system using a St\"uckelberg spinor, showing that the helicity-1/2 sector reproduces the same condition. This formulation is also essential for obtaining a renormalizable propagator. We discuss this propagator and the corresponding ghost system.

hep-th↗
arXiv2025

Generalised holonomies and K(E$_9$)

The involutory subalgebra K(E$_9$) of the affine Kac-Moody algebra E$_9$ was recently shown to admit an infinite sequence of unfaithful representations of ever increasing dimensions arXiv:2102.00870. We revisit these representations and describe their associated ideals in more detail, with particular emphasis on two chiral versions that can be constructed for each such representation. For every such unfaithful representation we show that the action of K(E$_9$) decomposes into a direct sum of two mutually commuting (`chiral' and `anti-chiral') parabolic algebras with Levi subalgebra $\mathfrak{so}(16)_+\,\oplus\,\mathfrak{so}(16)_-$. We also spell out the consistency conditions for uplifting such representations to unfaithful representations of K(E$_{10}$). From these results it is evident that the holonomy groups so far discussed in the literature are mere shadows (in a Platonic sense) of a much larger structure.

hep-th↗
arXiv2025

From Tensor Algebras to Hyperbolic Kac-Moody Algebras

We propose a novel approach to study hyperbolic Kac-Moody algebras, and more specifically, the Feingold-Frenkel algebra $\mathfrak{F}$, which is based on considering the tensor algebra of level-one states before descending to the Lie algebra by converting tensor products into multiple commutators. This method enables us to exploit the presence of mutually commuting coset Virasoro algebras, whose number grows without bound with increasing affine level. We present the complete decomposition of the tensor algebra under the affine and coset Virasoro symmetries for all levels $\ell\leq 5$, as well as the maximal tensor ground states from which all elements of $\mathfrak{F}$ up to level five can be (redundantly) generated by the joint action of the affine and coset Virasoro generators, and subsequent conversion to multi-commutators, which are then expressed in terms of transversal and longitudinal DDF states. We outline novel directions for future work.

hep-th↗
arXiv2025

N=8 Supergravity, and beyond

This contribution gives a panoramic overview of the development of N=8 supergravity and its relation to other maximally supersymmetric theories over the past 40 years. It also provides a personal perspective on the future role of this theory in attempts at unification.

hep-th↗
arXiv2025

Standard Model Symmetries and K(E_10)

We clarify and extend our earlier work (K.A.Meissner and H.Nicolai, Phys. Rev. D91 (2015) 065029 and Phys. Rev. Lett. 121 (2018) 091601) where it was shown how to amend a scheme originally proposed by M. Gell-Mann to identify the three families of quarks and leptons of the Standard Model with the 48 spin 1/2 fermions of N=8 supergravity that remain after absorption of eight Goldstinos, a scheme that in its original form is dynamically realized at the SU(3)xU(1) stationary point of gauged N=8 supergravity. We explain how to deform and enlarge this symmetry at the kinematical level to the full Standard Model symmetry group SU(3)_c x SU(2)_w x U(1)_Y, with the correct charge and chiral assignments for all fermions. The framework also leaves room for an extra U(1)_(B-L) symmetry. This symmetry enhancement is achieved by embedding the Standard Model symmetries into (a quotient group of) K(E_10), the `maximal compact subgroup' of the maximal rank hyperbolic Kac-Moody symmetry E_10, and an infinite prolongation of the SU(8) R-symmetry of N=8 supergravity. This scheme, which is also supposed to encompass quantum gravity, cannot be realized within the framework of space-time based (quantum) field theory, but requires space-time and related geometrical concepts to be `emergent'. We critically review the main hypotheses underlying this construction.

hep-th↗
arXiv2024

Signatures of supermassive charged gravitinos in liquid scintillator detectors

In a previous work [K.A. Meissner and H. Nicolai, Eur. Phys. J. C {\bf 84}, 269 (2024)], two of the present authors have suggested possible experimental ways to search for stable supermassive particles with electric charges of $\cO(1)$ in upcoming underground experiments, in particular the new Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) experiment. In the current paper, we present a detailed analysis of the specific signature of such gravitino-induced events for the JUNO detector and for upcoming liquid argon detectors like DUNE (Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment). The proposed method of detection relies on the ``glow'' produced by photons during the passage of such particles through the detector liquid, which would last for about a few to a few hundred microseconds depending on its velocity and the track. The cross sections for electronic excitation of the main component of the scintillator liquid, namely linear alkylbenzene (LAB), by the passing gravitino are evaluated using quantum-chemical methods. The results show that, if such particles exist, the resulting signals would lead to a unique and unmistakable signature, for which we present event simulations as they would be seen by the JUNO or DUNE photomultipliers. Our analysis brings together two very different research areas, namely fundamental particles physics and the search for a fundamental theory on the one hand, and methods of advanced quantum chemistry on the other.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2024

A string-like realization of hyperbolic Kac-Moody algebras

We propose a new approach to studying hyperbolic Kac-Moody algebras, focussing on the rank-3 algebra $\mathfrak{F}$ first investigated by Feingold and Frenkel. Our approach is based on the concrete realization of this Lie algebra in terms of a Hilbert space of transverse and longitudinal physical string states, which are expressed in a basis using DDF operators. When decomposed under its affine subalgebra $A_1^{(1)}$, the algebra $\mathfrak{F}$ decomposes into an infinite sum of affine representation spaces of $A_1^{(1)}$ for all levels $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$. For $|\ell| >1$ there appear in addition coset Virasoro representations for all minimal models of central charge $c<1$, but the different level-$\ell$ sectors of $\mathfrak{F}$ do not form proper representations of these because they are incompletely realized in $\mathfrak{F}$. To get around this problem we propose to nevertheless exploit the coset Virasoro algebra for each level by identifying for each level a (for $|\ell|\geq 3$ infinite) set of `Virasoro ground states' that are not necessarily elements of $\mathfrak{F}$ (in which case we refer to them as `virtual'), but from which the level-$\ell$ sectors of $\mathfrak{F}$ can be fully generated by the joint action of affine and coset Virasoro raising operators. We conjecture (and present partial evidence) that the Virasoro ground states for $|\ell|\geq 3$ in turn can be generated from a finite set of `maximal ground states' by the additional action of the `spectator' coset Virasoro raising operators present for all levels $|\ell| > 2$. Our results hint at an intriguing but so far elusive secret behind Einstein's theory of gravity, with possibly important implications for quantum cosmology.

hep-th↗
arXiv2024

Decompositions of hyperbolic Kac-Moody algebras with respect to imaginary root groups

We propose a novel way to define imaginary root subgroups associated with (timelike) imaginary roots of hyperbolic Kac-Moody algebras. Using in an essential way the theory of unitary irreducible representation of covers of the group SO(2,1), these imaginary root subgroups act on the complex Kac-Moody algebra viewed as a Hilbert space. We illustrate our new view on Kac-Moody groups by considering the example of a rank-two hyperbolic algebra that is related to the Fibonacci numbers. We also point out some open issues and new avenues for further research, and briefly discuss the potential relevance of the present results for physics and current attempts at unification.

math.RT↗
arXiv2024

Reflections on Supersymmetry

Supersymmetry is a theme with many facets that has dominated much of high energy physics over the past decades. In this contribution I present a very personal perspective on these developments, which has also been shaped in an important way by my interactions with Julius Wess and Bruno Zumino.

hep-th↗
arXiv2023

Searching for supermassive charged gravitinos in underground experiments

We examine possible experimental signatures that may be exploited to search for stable supermassive particles with electric charges of $O(1)$ in future underground experiments, and the upcoming JUNO experiment in particular. The telltale signal providing a unique signature of such particles, would be a correlated sequence of three or more nuclear recoils along a straight line, corresponding to the motion of a non-relativistic ($β\lesssim 10^{-2}$) particle that could enter the detector from any direction. We provide some preliminary estimates for the expected event rates.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2023

Fundamental Membranes and the String Dilaton

We study the quantization of the bosonic sector of supermembrane theory in double dimensional reduction, in order to extract the dependence of the resulting world-sheet action on the string dilaton (which cannot be obtained from a purely kinematic reduction). Our construction relies on a Polyakov-type approach with all six metric components on the world-volume as independent quantum fields, and shows that the correct and unique answer is only obtained if the target-space dimension of the theory is restricted to the critical value ($D=11$ for the supermembrane). As a corollary, our analysis implies that there are no analogs of the non-critical string for (super-)membrane theory.

hep-th↗
arXiv2023

A perturbative expansion scheme for supermembrane and matrix theory

We reconsider the supermembrane in a Minkowski background and in the light-cone gauge as a one-dimensional gauge theory of area preserving diffeomorphisms (APDs). Keeping the membrane tension $T$ as an independent parameter we show that $T$ is proportional to the square of the gauge coupling $g$ of this gauge theory, such that the small (large) tension limit of the supermembrane corresponds to the weak (strong) coupling limit of the APD gauge theory and its SU$(N)$ matrix model approximation. A perturbative linearization of the supersymmetric theory suitable for a quantum mechanical path-integral treatment can be achieved by formulating a Nicolai map for the matrix model, which we work out explicitly to ${\cal O}(g^4)$. The corresponding formulae remain well-defined in the limit $N{\to}\infty$; this result relies on a cancellation of infinities not present for the bosonic membrane, indicating that the $N{\to}\infty$ limit does not exist for the purely bosonic matrix model. Furthermore we show that the map has improved convergence properties in comparison with the usual perturbative expansions because its Jacobian admits an expansion in $g$ with a non-zero radius of convergence. Possible implications for unsolved issues with the matrix model of M theory are also mentioned.

hep-th↗
arXiv2023

A stable supermassive charged gravitino?

Some time ago it was suggested that dark matter may consist in part of an extremely dilute gas of supermassive gravitinos with fractional charge 2$e$/3 \cite{MeissnerNicolai2019}. This scheme makes the definite (and falsifiable) prediction that massive gravitinos are the {\em only} new fermionic degrees of freedom beyond the known three generations of quarks and leptons of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. In this note we re-examine one special outlier event reported and subsequently discarded by the MACRO collaboration \cite{MACRO1} in the light of this proposal and point out the possibility of an alternative interpretation of this event supporting the above hypothesis, whose confirmation (or refutation) would, however, require an independent dedicated experimental effort.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2022

Representations of involutory subalgebras of affine Kac-Moody algebras

We consider the subalgebras of split real, non-twisted affine Kac-Moody Lie algebras that are fixed by the Chevalley involution. These infinite-dimensional Lie algebras are not of Kac-Moody type and admit finite-dimensional unfaithful representations. We exhibit a formulation of these algebras in terms of $\mathbb{N}$-graded Lie algebras that allows the construction of a large class of representations using the techniques of induced representations. We study how these representations relate to previously established spinor representations as they arise in the theory of supergravity.

math.RT↗
arXiv2022

The E10 Wheeler-DeWitt operator at low levels

We consider the Wheeler-DeWitt operator associated with the bosonic part of the Hamiltonian of D=11 supergravity in a formulation with only the spatial components of the three-form and six-form fields, and compare it with the E10 Casimir operator at low levels, to show that these two operators precisely match modulo spatial gradients up to and including gl(10) level two. The uniqueness of the E10 Casimir operator eliminates all ordering ambiguities in the quantum Hamiltonian, at least up to the level considered. Beyond level three the two operators are expected to start to differ from each other, as they do so for the classical expressions. We then consider truncations of the E10 Wheeler-DeWitt operator for various finite-dimensional subgroups of E10 in order to exhibit the automorphic properties of the associated wave functions and to show that physically sensible wave functions generically vanish at the cosmological singularity, thus providing new and more sophisticated examples of DeWitt's proposed mechanism for singularity resolution in quantum gravity. Our construction provides novel perspectives on several unresolved conceptual issues with the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, such as the question of observables in quantum gravity, or the issue of emergent space and time in a purely algebraic framework. We also highlight remaining open questions of the E10 framework.

hep-th↗
arXiv2021

Complexity and the Big Bang

After a brief review of current scenarios for the resolution and/or avoidance of the Big Bang, an alternative hypothesis is put forward implying an infinite increase in complexity towards the initial singularity. This may result in an effective non-calculability which would present an obstruction to actually reaching the beginning of time. This proposal is motivated by the appearance of certain infinite-dimensional duality symmetries of indefinite Kac--Moody type in attempts to unify gravity with the fundamental matter interactions, and deeply rooted in properties of Einstein's theory.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2021

Origin and growth of primordial black holes

Building on the insight that primordial black holes can arise from the formation and subsequent gravitational collapse of bound states of stable supermassive elementary particles during the early radiation era, we offer a comprehensive picture describing the evolution and growth of the resulting mini-black holes through both the radiation and matter dominated phases, until the onset of (small scale) inhomogeneities. This is achieved by means of an exact metric solving Einstein's equations throughout both phases. We show that, thanks to a special enhancement effect producing an effective horizon above the actual event horizon, this process can explain the observed mass values of the earliest giant black holes. Unlike other proposals, it also predicts a lower limit on the mass of supermassive black holes.

astro-ph.HE↗