The five exceptional simple Lie superalgebras of vector fields

Abstract

The five simple exceptional complex Lie superalgbras of vector fields are described. One of them is new; the other four are explicitely described for the first time. All of the exceptional Lie superalgebras are obtained with the help of the Cartan prolongation or a generalized prolongation. The description of several of the exceptional Lie superalgebras is associated with the Lie superalgebra AS - the nontrivial central extension of the supertraceless subalgebra SPE(4) of the periplectic Lie superalgebra PE(4) that preserves the nondegenerate odd bilinear form on the (4|4)-dimensional superspace. (A nontrivial central extension of SPE(n) only exists for n=4.)