Doubly self-dual actions in various dimensions

The self-duality of the N=1 supersymmetric Born--Infeld action implies a double self-duality of the tensor multiplet square-root action when the scalar and the antisymmetric tensor are interchanged via Poincare' duality. We show how this phenomenon extends to D space-time dimensions for non-linear actions involving pairs of forms of rank p and D-p-2. As a byproduct, we construct a new two-field generalization of the Born-Infeld action whose equations of motion are invariant under a U(1) duality. In these systems, the introduction of Green-Schwarz terms results in explicit non-linear mass-like terms for dual massive pairs.

Abstract: The self-duality of the N = 1 supersymmetric Born-Infeld action implies a double self-duality of the tensor multiplet square-root action when the scalar and the antisymmetric tensor are interchanged via Poincaré duality. We show how this phenomenon extends to D space-time dimensions for non-linear actions involving pairs of forms of rank p and D − p − 2. As a byproduct, we construct a new two-field generalization of the Born-Infeld action whose equations of motion are invariant under a U(1) duality. In these systems, the introduction of Green-Schwarz terms results in explicit non-linear mass-like terms for dual massive pairs.