Dualities and Hidden Supersymmetry in String Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

A supersymmetric approach to string quantum cosmology based on the non-compact, global duality symmetries of the effective action is developed. An N=2 supersymmetric action is derived whose bosonic component is the Neveu-Schwarz/Neveu-Schwarz sector of the $(d+1)$--dimensional effective action compactified on a $d$--torus. A representation for the supercharges is found and the form of the zero-and one-fermion quantum states is determined. The purely bosonic component of the wavefunction is unique and manifestly invariant under the symmetry of the action. The formalism applies to a wide class of non-linear sigma-models.