In this thesis we consider some aspects of two dimensional Conformal Field Theory and their connection to String Theory. We have also studied some aspects of supersymmetry of M-Theory on Ricci-flat seven manifolds with 4-form fluxes. We concentrate mainly on certain supersymmetric extensions of the coset models due to Goddard, Kent and Olive (GKO). These models are known as the Kazama-Suzuki (KS) models and they are characterized by their <i>N</i> = 2 superconformal symmetry. Two series of the KS models enjoy a duality called level-rank duality which can be described roughly as duality between the dimension of the target space and the level of coset. We believe that the path-integral approach is the closest in spirit to string theory. Therefore, we formulate the level-rank duality of KS models in the path-integral approach by using the realization of GKO cosets as gauged Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten (gauged-WZNW) models. We derive, for a class of KS models, an expression for the partition function which is symmetric in the parameters of the level-rank duality. We compute the central charge of the models from this expression which matches that of Kazama and Suzuki in the operator approach. We then work out the target space metric and the dilation of the gauged-WZNW model based on the GKO coset SU(3)/(SU(2) x U(1)). It turns out to be quite a complicated metric with a non-trivial dilation. We verify, as a consistency check, that they satisfy the appropriate string theory effective equations of motion. We then argue that this background can arise naturally in type II string theory compactified down to <i>AdS<sub>3</sub></i> space. We then turn to Eleven Dimensional Supergravity which is the low energy limit of M-theory. We adopt a metric ansatz which is a warped product of four dimensional Minkowski space and a (non-compact) seven manifold with 4-form fluxes turned on it. We derive the condition for unbroken supersymmetry with fluxes and non-trivial warp-factor. We show that the same condition implies that the seven manifold is conformal to a Ricci-flat manifold. We also point out the limitation of some naive ansatze about the structure of the Killing spinor. At this stage we are unable to give an explicit solution to the supersymmetry condition.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:595446 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Ali, T. |
| Publisher | University of Cambridge |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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