Perturbative and Non-Perturbative Aspects of N=8 Supergravity

Abstract

Some aspects of quantum properties of N=8 supergravity in four dimensions are discussed for non-practitioners. At perturbative level, they include the Weyl trace anomaly as well as composite duality anomalies, the latter being relevant for perturbative finiteness. At non-perturbative level, we briefly review some facts about extremal black holes, their Bekenstein-Hawking entropy and attractor flows for single- and two-centered solutions.