On the Octonionic M-superalgebra

Abstract

The generalized supersymmetries admitting abelian bosonic tensorial central charges are classified in accordance with their division algebra structure (over ${\bf R}$, ${\bf C}$, ${\bf H}$ or ${\bf O}$). It is shown in particular that in D=11 dimensions, the $M$-superalgebra admits a consistent octonionic formulation, involving 52 real bosonic generators (in place of the 528 of the standard $M$-superalgebra). The octonionic $M5$ (super-5-brane) sector coincides with the octonionic $M1$ and $M2$ sectors, while in the standard formulation these sectors are all independent. The octonionic conformal and superconformal $M$-algebras are explicitly constructed. They are respectively given by the $Sp(8|{\bf O})$ ($OSp(1,8|{\bf O})$) (super)algebra of octonionic-valued (super)matrices, whose bosonic subalgebra consists of 232 (and respectively 239) generators.