Lectures on Supergravity p-branes

Abstract

We review the properties of classical p-brane solutions to supergravity theories, i.e. solutions that may be interpreted as Poincare-invariant hyperplanes in spacetime. Topics covered include the distinction between elementary/electric and solitonic/magnetic solutions, examples of singularity and global structure, relations between mass densities, charge densities and the preservation of unbroken supersymmetry, diagonal and vertical Kaluza-Klein reduction families, Scherk-Schwarz reduction and domain walls, and the classification of multiplicities using duality symmetries.