On symmetries and dynamics of exotic supermultiplets

A bstract Among the allowed representations of extended supersymmetry in six dimensions there are exotic chiral multiplets that, instead of a graviton, contain mixed-symmetry spin-2 tensor fields. Notably, an N = (4 , 0) multiplet has a four index exotic graviton and it was conjectured that an interacting theory based on this multiplet could arise as a strong coupling limit of M theory compactified on T 6 . We present an algebraic study of these multiplets and their possible embedding into the framework of exceptional field theory, finding in particular that the six-dimensional momenta do not correspond to a conventional space-time section. When compactified on a circle, the six-dimensional multiplets give rise to the same degrees of freedom as five-dimensional supergravity theories with the same number of supersymmetries. However, by considering anomalies (computed using the product multiplets construction) and the generation of Chern-Simons couplings, we find reason to doubt that their dynamics will agree with the five-dimensional gravity theories. We propose an alternative picture, similar to F-theory, in which particular fixed-volume T 3 -fibered space-times play a central role, suggesting that only on compactification to three-dimensions will one make contact with the dynamics of supergravity.