text:
# Introduction

## Introduction

In theories with local supersymmetry (supergravity and superstring theories), the maximally supersymmetric solutions are usually identified as vacua, although vacua with less unbroken supersymmetry can also be interesting. The vacuum supersymmetry algebra, together with Wigner’s theorem, determine which fields can be defined on it, their conserved (quantum) numbers, the particle spectrum etc. Thus, the supersymmetry algebra is a very important piece of information.

The calculation of the supersymmetry algebra of a solution (see, e.g. Ref. ), involves the calculation of its Killing vectors and Killing spinors, and the computation of bilinears and Lie derivatives of the Killing spinors which can sometimes be difficult or tedious, since their functional form has no manifest geometrical meaning.

However, most known maximally supersymmetric solutions have the spacetime metric of some symmetric space that can be identified with a coset $`G/H`$444The only exception known to us could be the near-horizon metric of the 5-dimensional rotating black hole.. Our main result is that, quite generally, the Killing spinor equation in maximally supersymmetric solutions can be put in the form

$$(d+u^1du)\kappa =0,$$
(0.1)
which, written in the form $`u^1d(u\kappa )=0`$ tells us that the Killing spinors are given by

$$\kappa =u^1\kappa _0,$$
(0.2)
where $`\kappa _0`$ is a constant Killing spinor. $`u`$ is a coset representative in the spinorial representation. Then, the bilinears $`\overline{\kappa }\gamma ^\mu \kappa `$ can be easily decomposed into Killing vectors and the Lie-Lorentz derivative of the Killing spinors with respect to the Killing vectors are also easily computed. This simplifies dramatically the calculation of the supersymmetry algebras of these maximally supersymmetric solutions.

In Section 1 we give a extremely sketchy review of the theory of symmetric spaces needed to prove the above general result in the examples that will follow. In Section 2 we use the machinery just introduced to give a construction of the metric of several well-known maximally supersymmetric supergravity solutions (all of them corresponding to symmetric, but, in general, not maximally symmetric spacetimes) and to show how the general rule for the construction of the Killing spinors works in practice. We start with the simplest non-trivial example: $`AdS_4`$ in $`N=1,d=4`$ ($`AdS`$) supergravity (Section 2.1). Then we consider the next non-trivial example: the Robinson-Bertotti solution with geometry $`AdS_2\times S^2`$ (Section 2.2) which we then generalize to other known maximally supersymmetric solutions with geometries of the type $`AdS\times S`$ (Section 2.3). Finally, we consider in Section 2 the last kind of known maximally supersymmetric solutions: the Kowalski-Glikman solutions with H$`pp`$-wave geometries. Section 3 contains our conclusions perspectives for future work.

## 1 Symmetric Spaces

Let us consider555Two Physics-oriented general references are  and . the $`(p+q)`$-dimensional Lie group $`G`$, its $`p`$-dimensional subgroup $`H`$ and the $`q`$-dimensional space of right cosets $`G/H=\{gH\}`$. The Lie algebra $`𝔤`$ of $`G`$ is spanned by the generators $`T_I`$ ($`I=1,\mathrm{},p+q`$) with Lie algebra

$$[T_I,T_J]=f_{IJ}{}_{}{}^{K}T_{K}^{}.$$
(1.1)
The Lie algebra of $`H`$ is generated by the subalgebra $`𝔥𝔤`$ spanned by the generators $`M_i`$ ($`i=1,\mathrm{},p`$) with Lie brackets

$$[M_i,M_j]=f_{ij}{}_{}{}^{k}M_{k}^{}.$$
(1.2)
The vector subspace spanned by the remaining generators, denoted by $`P_a`$, ($`a,b=1,\mathrm{},q`$) is denoted by $`𝔨`$ and, as vector spaces we have $`𝔤=𝔨𝔥`$. Exponentiating the generators of $`𝔨`$ we can construct a coset representative $`u(x)=u(x^1,\mathrm{},x^q)`$. We will always construct the coset representative as a product of generic elements of the 1-dimensional subgroups generated by the $`P_a`$s:

$$u(x)=e^{x^1P_1}\mathrm{}e^{x^qP_q}.$$
(1.3)
Under a left transformation $`gG`$ $`u`$ transforms into another element of $`G`$ which only becomes a coset representative $`u(x^{})`$ after a right transformation with an element $`hH`$, which is a function of $`g`$ and $`x`$:

$$gu(x)=u(x^{})h.$$
(1.4)
The adjoint representation of $`𝔤`$ has as representation space $`𝔤`$ and can be defined by its action on its generators: for any $`T𝔤`$

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(T)(T_I)[T,T_I],\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(T_I)^K{}_{J}{}^{}=f_{IJ}{}_{}{}^{K}.$$
(1.5)
Exponentiating the generators of the Lie algebra $`𝔤`$ in the adjoint representation, we get the adjoint representation of the group $`G`$

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(g(x))=\mathrm{exp}\{x^I\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(T_I)\}.$$
(1.6)
that acts on the Lie algebra generators

$$T_J^{}=T_L\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(g)^L{}_{J}{}^{}.$$
(1.7)
Actually, in any representation $`r`$, the adjoint action of $`G`$ on $`𝔤`$ is given by

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_r(g)\mathrm{\Gamma }_r(T_I)\mathrm{\Gamma }_r(g^1)=\mathrm{\Gamma }_r(T_J)\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(g)^J{}_{I}{}^{}.$$
(1.8)
The Killing metric $`K_{IJ}`$ is defined by

$$K_{IJ}\mathrm{Tr}[\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(T_I)\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(T_J)],$$
(1.9)
and by construction it is invariant under the adjoint action of $`G`$, due to the cyclic property of the trace.

The homogeneous space $`G/H`$ can be used to construct a symmetric space if the pair $`(𝔨,𝔥)`$ is a symmetric pair satisfying

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill [𝔥,𝔥]& & 𝔥,\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill [𝔨,𝔥]& & 𝔨,\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill [𝔨,𝔨]& & 𝔥.\hfill \end{array}$$
(1.10)
The first condition is always satisfied for homogeneous spaces since $`𝔥`$ is a subalgebra. The second condition says that $`𝔨`$ is a representation of $`H`$. The two components of a symmetric pair are mutually orthogonal with respect to the Killing metric which is block-diagonal.

The first step is the construction of the left-invariant Lie-algebra valued Maurer-Cartan 1-form $`V`$

$$Vu^1du=e^aP_a+\vartheta ^iM_i,$$
(1.11)
that we have decomposed in horizontal $`e^a`$ and vertical components $`\vartheta ^i`$. By construction, $`V`$ satisfies the Maurer-Cartan equations

$$dVVV=0,\{\begin{array}{ccc}de^a\vartheta ^ie^bf_{ib}^a\hfill & =& 0,\hfill \\ & & \\ d\vartheta ^i\frac{1}{2}\vartheta ^j\vartheta ^kf_{jk}{}_{}{}^{i}\frac{1}{2}e^ae^bf_{ab}^i\hfill & =& 0.\hfill \end{array}$$
(1.12)
The horizontal components $`e^a`$ provide us with a co-frame for $`G/H`$. Under left multiplication by a constant element $`gG`$ $`u(x^{})=gu(x)h^1`$, which implies for the Maurer-Cartan 1-form components

$$\{\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill e^a(x^{})& =& (he(x)h^1)^a=\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(h)^a{}_{b}{}^{}e_{}^{b}(x),\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill \vartheta ^i(x^{})& =& (h\vartheta (x)h^1)^i+(h^1dh)^i.\hfill \end{array}$$
(1.13)
The second step to construct a symmetric space is the construction of the metric. With a symmetric bilinear form $`B_{ab}`$ in $`𝔨`$ we can construct a Riemannian metric

$$ds^2B_{ab}e^ae^b,$$
(1.14)
that will be invariant under the left action of $`G`$ if $`B`$ is:

$$f_{i(a}{}_{}{}^{c}B_{b)c}^{}=0.$$
(1.15)
This is guaranteed if $`B_{mn}=K_{mn}`$, the projection on $`𝔨`$ of the Killing metric, but sometimes this is singular and another one has to be used . The resulting Riemannian metric contains $`G`$ in its isometry group (which could be bigger) and must admit $`p+q`$ Killing vector fields $`k_{(I)}`$. The Killing vectors $`k_{(I)}`$ and the so-called $`H`$-compensator $`W_I^i`$ are defined through the infinitesimal version of the transformation rule $`gu(x)=u(x^{})h`$ with

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill g& =& 1+\sigma ^IT_I,\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill h& =& 1\sigma ^IW_I{}_{}{}^{i}M_{i}^{},\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill x^\mu & =& x^\mu +\sigma ^Ik_{(I)}{}_{}{}^{\mu }.\hfill \end{array}$$
(1.16)
Using the above equations into

$$u(x+\delta x)=u(x)+\sigma ^Ik_{(I)}u,$$
(1.17)
we get

$$T_Iu=k_IuuW_I{}_{}{}^{i}M_{i}^{}.$$
(1.18)
Acting with $`u^1`$ on the left and using the definitions of the adjoint action and the Maurer-Cartan 1-forms , we get

$$T_J\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(u^1)^J{}_{I}{}^{}=k_{(I)}{}_{}{}^{a}P_{a}^{}(k_{(I)}{}_{}{}^{\mu }\vartheta _{}^{i}{}_{\mu }{}^{}+W_I{}_{}{}^{i})M_i,$$
(1.19)
which, projected on the horizontal and vertical subspaces gives the following expressions for the tangent space components of the Killing vector fields and the $`H`$-compensator

$`k_{(I)}^a`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(u^1(x))^a{}_{I}{}^{},`$ (1.20)
$`W_I^i`$ $`=`$ $`k_{(I)}{}_{}{}^{\mu }\vartheta _{}^{i}{}_{\mu }{}^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(u^1(x))^i{}_{I}{}^{}.`$ (1.21)
$`H`$-Covariant Derivatives

According to the second of Eqs. (1.13) the vertical components $`\theta ^i`$ transform as an $`𝔥`$-valued connection. In fact, comparing the Maurer-Cartan equation for the horizontal components $`e^a`$ with the Cartan structure equation for the co-frame and (torsionless) spin connection

$$de^a\omega ^a{}_{b}{}^{}e^b=0,$$
(1.22)
we find that the spin connection is given by

$$\omega ^a{}_{b}{}^{}=\vartheta ^if_{ib}{}_{}{}^{a}=\vartheta ^i\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(M_i)^a{}_{b}{}^{}.$$
(1.23)
We use these results to define the $`H`$-covariant derivative that acts on any object that transforms contravariantly $`\varphi ^{}=\mathrm{\Gamma }_r(h)\varphi `$ or covariantly $`\psi ^{}=\psi \mathrm{\Gamma }_r(h^1)`$ (for instance, $`u(x)`$ itself) in the representation $`r`$ of $`H`$:

$$𝒟_\mu \varphi _\mu \varphi \vartheta _\mu {}_{}{}^{i}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{r}^{}(M_i)\varphi ,𝒟_\mu \psi _\mu \psi +\psi \vartheta _\mu {}_{}{}^{i}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{r}^{}(M_i)$$
(1.24)
In particular, the Maurer-Cartan equations tell us that

$$𝒟_{[\mu }e^a{}_{\nu ]}{}^{}=0.$$
(1.25)
By definition, the Levi-Cività connection is given by

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mu \nu }{}_{}{}^{a}𝒟_\mu e^a{}_{\nu }{}^{}.$$
(1.26)
Finally, let us introduce the $`H`$-covariant Lie derivative with respect to the Killing vectors $`k_{(I)}`$666$`H`$-covariant Lie derivatives can be defined with respect to any vector, although the Lie bracket property Eq. (1.28) is only satisfied for Killing vectors. The spinorial Lie derivative  or the Lie-Lorentz derivative that naturally appear in calculations of supersymmetry algebras  can actually be seen as particular examples of this more general operator (see e.g. Ref. ), and, actually, are identical objects when acting on Killing spinors of maximally supersymmetric spacetimes, as we are going to show. on objects that transform contravariantly ($`\varphi `$) or covariantly y ($`\psi `$) in the representation $`r`$ of $`H`$:

$$𝕃_{k_{(I)}}\varphi _{k_{(I)}}\varphi +W_I{}_{}{}^{i}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{r}^{}(M_i)\varphi ,𝕃_{k_{(I)}}\psi _{k_{(I)}}\psi \psi W_I{}_{}{}^{i}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{r}^{}(M_i).$$
(1.27)
This Lie derivative has, among other properties

$`[𝕃_{k_{(I)}},𝕃_{k_{(J)}}]`$ $`=`$ $`𝕃_{[k_{(I)},k_{(J)}]},`$ (1.28)
$`𝕃_{k_{(I)}}e^a`$ $`=`$ $`0`$ (1.29)
$`𝕃_{k_{(I)}}u`$ $`=`$ $`_{k_{(I)}}uuW_I{}_{}{}^{i}M_{i}^{}=T_Iu,`$ (1.30)
where the last property follows from Eqs. (1.21) and (1.18).

## 2 Killing Spinors in Symmetric Spacetimes

Most maximally supersymmetric solutions of supergravity theories have the metric of some symmetric spacetime. In some cases (Minkowski and $`AdS`$) the spacetime is also maximally symmetric but in other cases ($`AdS\times S`$ and $`KG`$ spacetimes) it is not, but we can always use the procedure explained in the previous section to construct the metric, spin connection and Killing vectors. We are going to see, example by example, that, when we construct in that way the metric, the Killing spinor equation always takes the form Eq. (0.1). It is, nevertheless, convenient to give a brief overview of how we arrive to the general result. Then, we are going to show how the general result can be exploited to calculate the commutators of the supersymmetry algebra.

In all supergravity theories, the Killing spinor equation is of the the form

$$(_\mu +\mathrm{\Omega }_\mu )\kappa =0,$$
(2.1)
where the form of $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ depends on specific details of the theory. Multiplying by $`dx^\mu `$, it takes the form

$$\left(d\frac{1}{4}\omega _{ab}\gamma ^{ab}+\mathrm{\Omega }\right)\kappa =0.$$
(2.2)
If we construct the symmetric space as in the previous section, then the spin connection 1-form $`\omega _{ab}`$ is given by Eq. (1.23) and takes values in the vertical Lie subalgebra $`𝔥`$. Further,

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M_i)\frac{1}{4}f_{ia}{}_{}{}^{b}\gamma _{b}^{}{}_{}{}^{a},$$
(2.3)
provides a (spinorial) representation of $`𝔥`$ and the Killing spinor equation becomes

$$\left(d\vartheta ^i\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M_i)+\mathrm{\Omega }\right)\kappa =0.$$
(2.4)
In all the cases that we are going to examine

$$\mathrm{\Omega }=e^a\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a),$$
(2.5)
where the matrices $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a)`$ are products of a number of Dirac gamma matrices (and, possibly, of other matrices in extended supergravities). Thus, on account of the definition of the Maurer-Cartan 1-forms Eq. (1.11), the Killing spinor equation can be written in the form Eq. (0.1)

$$\left(de^a\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a)\vartheta ^i\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M_i)\right)\kappa =\left(d+\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u^1)d\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u)\right)\kappa =0,$$
(2.6)
with

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u)=e^{x^1\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_1)}\mathrm{}e^{x^q\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_q)},$$
(2.7)
and the solution can be written in the form

$$\kappa ^\alpha =\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u^1)^\alpha {}_{\beta }{}^{}\kappa _{0}^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta },$$
(2.8)
for an arbitrary constant spinor $`\kappa _0^\beta `$ (we have written explicitly the spinor indices here). Since there will be as many independent Killing spinors as components has a real spinor777We are considering only Majorana spinors., we can use a spinorial index $`\alpha `$ to label a basis of Killing spinors:

$$\kappa _{(\alpha )}{}_{}{}^{\beta }=\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u^1)^\beta {}_{\alpha }{}^{}.$$
(2.9)
Killing spinors and Killing vectors are used to find the supersymmetry algebra of supergravity backgrounds (see, e.g. ). Killing spinors are related to supercharges and Killing vectors to bosonic charges. The anticommutator of two supercharges gives bosonic charges and, correspondingly the bilinears $`i\overline{\kappa }\gamma ^\mu \kappa `$ of Killing spinors are Killing vectors. To calculate the anticommutator of any two supercharges $`\{Q_{(\alpha )},Q_{(\beta )}\}`$ associated to the Killing spinors $`\kappa _{(\alpha )}`$ we have to decompose the bilinears into linear combinations of the Killing vectors $`k_{(I)}`$

$$i\overline{\kappa }_{(\alpha )}\gamma ^\mu \kappa _{(\beta )}_\mu =c_{\alpha \beta }{}_{}{}^{I}k_{(I)}^{},$$
(2.10)
finding the coefficients $`c_{\alpha \beta }^I`$. Now, using the above general form of the Killing spinors, the bilinears take the form

$$i\overline{\kappa }_{(\alpha )}\gamma ^\mu \kappa _{(\beta )}_\mu =i\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u^1)_\alpha {}_{}{}^{\gamma }𝒞_{\gamma \delta }^{}(\gamma ^a)^\delta {}_{ϵ}{}^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{s}^{}(u^1)^ϵ{}_{\beta }{}^{},$$
(2.11)
where $`𝒞`$ is the charge conjugation matrix $`𝒞^1\gamma ^{aT}𝒞=\gamma ^a`$. Now, in most cases888The exception seems to be the Kowalski-Glikman H$`pp`$-wave spacetimes.,the matrices $`\gamma ^a`$ happen to be proportional to the the dual999It is always possible to find the dual of a representation that uses (unitary) gamma matrices. $`P^a`$ of a Lie algebra generator $`P_a`$ $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)`$

$$\gamma ^a=𝒮\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a),$$
(2.12)
for some matrix $`𝒮`$ that depends on the case we are considering. The combination $`\stackrel{~}{𝒞}𝒞𝒮`$ acts as a charge conjugation matrix in the subspace spanned by the horizontal generators in the spinorial representation101010We thank P. Meessen for pointing this out to us.

$$\stackrel{~}{𝒞}^1\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)^T\stackrel{~}{𝒞}=\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a),$$
(2.13)
so

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u^1)^T𝒞\gamma ^a=\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u^1)^T\stackrel{~}{𝒞}\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)=\stackrel{~}{𝒞}\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u)\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a).$$
(2.14)
and, thus,

$$i\overline{\kappa }_{(\alpha )}\gamma ^\mu \kappa _{(\beta )}_\mu =i\stackrel{~}{𝒞}_{\alpha \gamma }\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u)^\gamma {}_{\delta }{}^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{s}^{}(P^a)^\delta {}_{ϵ}{}^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{s}^{}(u^1)^ϵ{}_{\beta }{}^{}e_{a}^{}.$$
(2.15)
In this expression we can recognize $`uP^au^1`$ in the spinorial representation, which is the coadjoint action of the coset element $`u`$ on $`P^a`$

$$i\overline{\kappa }_{(\alpha )}\gamma ^\mu \kappa _{(\beta )}_\mu =i\stackrel{~}{𝒞}_{\alpha \gamma }\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(T^I)^\gamma {}_{\beta }{}^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}^{}(u^1)^a{}_{I}{}^{}e_{a}^{}=i\stackrel{~}{𝒞}_{\alpha \gamma }\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(T^I)^\gamma {}_{\beta }{}^{}k_{(I)}^{},$$
(2.16)
where we have used Eq. (1.20). The superalgebra structure constants $`c_{\alpha \beta }^I`$ can be readily identified with $`i\stackrel{~}{𝒞}_{\alpha \gamma }\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(T^I)^\gamma _\beta `$.

To complete all the commutation relations of the supersymmetry algebra, we need the commutators of the bosonic charges and the supercharges, which are determined by the spinorial or Lie-Lorentz derivative of the Killing vectors on the Killing spinors $`𝕃_{k_{(I)}}\kappa _{(\alpha )}`$ , since this operation preserves the supercovariant derivative (at least in the ungauged supergravities that we are going to consider) and transforms Killing spinors into Killing spinors

$$𝕃_{k_{(I)}}\kappa _{(\alpha )}=c_{\alpha I}{}_{}{}^{\beta }\kappa _{(\beta )}^{},[Q_{(\alpha )},P_{(I)}]=c_{\alpha I}{}_{}{}^{\beta }Q_{(\beta )}^{}.$$
(2.17)
The Lie-Lorentz derivative acting on a (contravariant) spinor $`\psi `$ is given by

$$𝕃_{k_{(I)}}\psi =k_{(I)}{}_{}{}^{\mu }_{\mu }^{}\psi +\frac{1}{4}_ak_{(I)}^b\gamma ^a{}_{b}{}^{}\psi .$$
(2.18)
On a symmetric space $`G/H`$,

$$k_{(I)}{}_{}{}^{\mu }_{\mu }^{}\psi =k_{(I)}{}_{}{}^{\mu }_{\mu }^{}\psi k_{(I)}{}_{}{}^{\mu }\vartheta _{}^{i}{}_{\mu }{}^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{s}^{}(M_i)\psi ,_\mu k_{(I)}^b=_\mu k_{(I)}^b\vartheta ^i{}_{\mu }{}^{}f_{ic}^{}{}_{}{}^{b}k_{(I)}^{c}.$$
(2.19)
Furthermore

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill _\mu k_{(I)}^b& =& _\mu \mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(u^1)^b_I\hfill \\ & & \\ & =& \mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(u^1)^b{}_{J}{}^{}_{\mu }^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(u)^J{}_{K}{}^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}^{}(u^1)^K_I\hfill \\ & & \\ & =& V^J{}_{\mu }{}^{}f_{JK}^{}{}_{}{}^{b}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}^{}(u^1)^K_I\hfill \\ & & \\ & =& e^a{}_{\mu }{}^{}f_{ai}^{}{}_{}{}^{b}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}^{}(u^1)^i{}_{I}{}^{}\vartheta ^i{}_{\mu }{}^{}f_{ic}^{}{}_{}{}^{b}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}^{}(u^1)^c_I\hfill \\ & & \\ & =& e^a{}_{\mu }{}^{}f_{ia}^{}{}_{}{}^{b}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}^{}(u^1)^i{}_{I}{}^{}+\vartheta ^i{}_{\mu }{}^{}f_{ic}^{}{}_{}{}^{b}k_{(I)}^{}{}_{}{}^{c},\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.20)
so

$$\frac{1}{4}_ak_{(I)}^b\mathrm{\Gamma }^a{}_{b}{}^{}=\frac{1}{4}f_{ia}{}_{}{}^{b}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}^{}(u^1)^i{}_{I}{}^{}\gamma _{}^{a}{}_{b}{}^{}=\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(u^1)^i{}_{I}{}^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{s}^{}(M_i),$$
(2.21)
and

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill 𝕃_{k_{(I)}}\psi & =& k_{(I)}{}_{}{}^{\mu }_{\mu }^{}\psi k_{(I)}{}_{}{}^{\mu }\vartheta _{}^{i}{}_{\mu }{}^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{s}^{}(M_i)\psi \mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(u^1)^i{}_{I}{}^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{s}^{}(M_i)\psi \hfill \\ & & \\ & =& _{k_{(I)}}\psi +W_I^i\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M_i)\psi .\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.22)
Then, the Lie-lorentz derivative coincides withe the $`H`$-covariant Lie derivative. On the inverse coset representative

$$𝕃_{k_{(I)}}\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u^1)=\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u^1)[𝕃_{k_{(I)}}\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u)]\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u^1)=\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u^1)\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(T_I),$$
(2.23)
on account of Eq. (1.30), which implies the commutators

$$[Q_{(\alpha )},T_I]=Q_{(\beta )}\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(T_I)^\beta {}_{\alpha }{}^{}.$$
(2.24)
### 2.1 $`AdS_4`$ in $`N=1,d=4`$ $`AdS`$ Supergravity

$`AdS_4`$ is the maximally supersymmetric vacuum of $`N=1,d=4`$ $`AdS`$ supergravity: the integrability conditions of the Killing spinor equations vanish identically, which implies that 4 independent solutions exist. They are not hard to find (see e.g. Ref ), but the expressions one gets in most coordinate systems are difficult to make sense of and they are difficult to work with to find supersymmetry algebras.

$`AdS_4`$ can be identified with the coset $`SO(2,3)/SO(1,3)`$. We introduce $`SO(2,3)`$ indices $`\widehat{a},\widehat{b},\mathrm{}=1,0,1,2,3`$. The metric is $`\widehat{\eta }^{\widehat{a}\widehat{b}}=\mathrm{diag}(++)`$ and $`𝔤=so(2,3)`$ the Lie algebra of $`SO(2,3)`$ can be written in the general form

$$[\widehat{M}_{\widehat{a}\widehat{b}},\widehat{M}_{\widehat{c}\widehat{d}}]=\widehat{\eta }_{\widehat{a}\widehat{c}}\widehat{M}_{\widehat{b}\widehat{d}}\widehat{\eta }_{\widehat{b}\widehat{d}}\widehat{M}_{\widehat{a}\widehat{c}}+\widehat{\eta }_{\widehat{a}\widehat{d}}\widehat{M}_{\widehat{b}\widehat{c}}+\widehat{\eta }_{\widehat{b}\widehat{c}}\widehat{M}_{\widehat{a}\widehat{d}}.$$
(2.25)
We can now perform a $`1+4`$ splitting of the indices $`\widehat{a}=(1,a),a=0,1,2,3`$ and define a new basis

$$\widehat{M}_{ab}=M_{ab},\widehat{M}_{a1}=g^1P_a,$$
(2.26)
where we have introduced the dimensionful parameter $`g`$ related to the $`AdS_4`$ radius $`R`$ and to the cosmological constant $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ by

$$R=1/g=\sqrt{3/\mathrm{\Lambda }}.$$
(2.27)
In terms of the new basis, the $`so(2,3)`$ algebra reads

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill [M_{ab},M_{cd}]& =& \eta _{ac}M_{bd}\eta _{bd}M_{ac}+\eta _{ad}M_{bc}+\eta _{bc}M_{ad},\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill [P_c,M_{ab}]& =& 2P_{[a}\eta _{b]c},[P_a,P_b]=g^2M_{ab}.\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.28)
The $`M_{ab}`$s generate the subalgebra $`𝔥=so(1,3)`$ of the Lorentz subgroup. The complement is $`𝔨=\{P_a\}`$ and the above commutation relations tell us that we have a symmetric pair. Following the general recipe, we construct the coset representative

$$u(x)=e^{x^3P_3}e^{x^2P_2}e^{x^1P_1}e^{x^0P_0},$$
(2.29)
and the Maurer-Cartan 1-forms $`e^a`$, that we are going to use as Vierbeins are111111In this and similar calculations one has to use the formula
$$e^{xX}Ye^{xX}=\mathrm{cos}xY+\mathrm{sin}xZ,$$
(2.30)  where
$$[X,Y]=Z,[Y,Z]=X,[Z,X]=Y.$$
(2.31)

$$e^0=dx^0,e^1=\mathrm{cos}x^0dx^1,e^2=\mathrm{cos}x^0\mathrm{ch}x^1dx^2,e^3=\mathrm{cos}x^0\mathrm{ch}x^1\mathrm{ch}x^2dx^2,$$
(2.32)
and using the Killing metric $`(+)`$ we get the $`AdS_4`$ metric in somewhat unusual coordinates

$$ds^2=(dx^0)^2\mathrm{cos}^2x^0\{(dx^1)^2+\mathrm{ch}^2x^1[(dx^2)^2+\mathrm{ch}^2x^1(dx^3)^2\}.$$
(2.33)
We do not need the explicit form of the vertical 1-forms $`\vartheta ^{ab}`$, but we need to know how they enter the spin connection. According to the general formula Eq. (1.23)

$$\omega ^a{}_{b}{}^{}=\frac{1}{4}e^{cd}f_{cd1b}{}_{}{}^{1a}=\frac{1}{2}e\vartheta ^{ac}\eta _{cb}.$$
(2.34)
The Killing spinor equation is

$$(d\frac{1}{4}\omega _{ab}\gamma ^{ab}\frac{ig}{2}\gamma _ae^a)\kappa =0,$$
(2.35)
and takes immediately the form of Eq. (0.1) with

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a)=\frac{ig}{2}\gamma _a,\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M_{ab})=\frac{1}{2}\gamma _{ab},$$
(2.36)
and the Killing spinors are of the general form $`\kappa _{(\alpha )}{}_{}{}^{\beta }=(u^1)^\beta _{(\alpha )}`$.

We define the dual generators $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)`$ by

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill \mathrm{Tr}[\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_b)]=\delta ^a{}_{b}{}^{},& & \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)=\frac{i}{2g}\gamma ^a,\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill \mathrm{Tr}[\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M^{ab})\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_{cd})]=\delta ^{ab}{}_{cd}{}^{},& & \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M^{ab})=\frac{1}{2}\gamma ^{ab}.\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.37)
The bilinears are, then ($`𝒮=1`$)

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill i\overline{\kappa }_{(\alpha )}\gamma ^a\kappa _{(\beta )}e_a& =& 2g\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u^1)^T𝒞\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(u^1)e_a\hfill \\ & & \\ & =& g𝒞\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(\widehat{M}^{\widehat{b}\widehat{c}})\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{Adj}}(u^1)^a{}_{\widehat{b}\widehat{c}}{}^{}e_{a}^{}\hfill \\ & & \\ & =& g𝒞\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(\widehat{M}^{\widehat{b}\widehat{c}})k_{(\widehat{b}\widehat{c})},\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.38)
and the anticommutator of the supercharges takes the well-known form

$$\{Q_{(\alpha )},Q_{(\beta )}\}=g[𝒞\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(\widehat{M}^{\widehat{a}\widehat{b}})]_{\alpha \beta }\widehat{M}_{\widehat{a}\widehat{b}}=i(𝒞\gamma ^a)_{\alpha \beta }P_a\frac{g}{2}(𝒞\gamma ^{ab})_{\alpha \beta }M_{ab},$$
(2.39)
that reduces to the Poincaré supersymmetry algebra in the $`g0`$ limit.

The commutators $`[Q_{(\alpha )},\widehat{M}_{\widehat{a}\widehat{b}}]`$ are given by the general formula (2.24):

$$[Q_{(\alpha )},\widehat{M}_{\widehat{a}\widehat{b}}]=Q_{(\beta )}\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(\widehat{M}_{\widehat{a}\widehat{b}})^\beta {}_{\alpha }{}^{}.$$
(2.40)
The generalization to higher dimensions121212Maximally supersymmetric $`AdS`$ vacua arise in gauged supergravities in $`d7`$. and to spheres, described as cosets $`SO(n+1)/SO(n)`$ is evident. As a matter of fact, the coset structure underlies the calculation of Killing spinors in $`S^n`$ of Ref.  but only after this is realized the calculation of bilinears etc. becomes really simple.

### 2.2 The Robinson-Bertotti Solution in $`N=2,d=4`$ Supergravity

The Robinson-Bertotti solution of $`N=2,d=4`$ supergravity  can be obtained as the near-horizon limit of the extreme Reissner-Nordström black hole and is known to be maximally supersymmetric , although, to the best of our knowledge, no explicit expression of its 8 real Killing spinors is available in the literature. The metric is that of the direct product of that of $`AdS_2`$ with radius $`R_2`$ and that of $`S^2`$ with radius $`R_2`$

$$\{\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill ds^2& =& R_2^2d\mathrm{\Pi }_{(2)}^2R_2^2d\mathrm{\Omega }_{(2)}^2,\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill F& =& \frac{2}{R_2}\omega _{AdS_2},\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.41)
where $`d\mathrm{\Pi }_{(2)}^2`$ stands for the metric of the $`AdS_2`$ spacetime of unit radius, $`d\mathrm{\Omega }_{(2)}^2`$ for the metric of the unit 2-sphere $`S^2`$ and $`\omega _{AdS_2}`$ for the volume 2-form of radius $`R_2`$. Both $`AdS_2`$ and $`S^2`$ are symmetric spacetimes $`SO(2,1)/SO(2)`$ and $`SO(3)/SO(2)`$ and we can construct them using the procedure explained in Section 1.

The Lie algebra of $`SO(2,1)`$ can be written in the form

$$[T_I,T_J]=ϵ_{IJK}𝖰^{KL}T_L,I,J,\mathrm{}=1,2,3,,𝖰=\mathrm{diag}(++),$$
(2.42)
and the Lie algebra of $`SO(3)`$ can be written in the form

$$[\stackrel{~}{T}_I,\stackrel{~}{T}_J]=ϵ_{IJK}\stackrel{~}{T}_K,I,J,\mathrm{}=1,2,3,.$$
(2.43)
We choose the subalgebra $`𝔥`$ to be generated by $`T_1`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{T}_3`$ so $`𝔨`$ is generated by $`T_2,T_3`$ and $`,\stackrel{~}{T}_1,\stackrel{~}{T}_2`$. We perform the following redefinitions

$$\begin{array}{cccccc}\hfill T_1& =& M_1,\hfill & \hfill \stackrel{~}{T}_1& =& R_2P_3,\hfill \\ & & & & & \\ \hfill T_2& =& R_2P_1,\hfill & \hfill \stackrel{~}{T}_2& =& R_2P_2,\hfill \\ & & & & & \\ \hfill T_3& =& R_2P_0,\hfill & \hfill \stackrel{~}{T}_3& =& M_2,\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.44)
and the coset representative is the product of two mutually commuting coset representatives $`u,\stackrel{~}{u}`$ with

$$u=e^{R_2\varphi P_0}e^{R_2\chi P_1},\stackrel{~}{u}=e^{R_2\phi P_3}e^{R_2(\theta \frac{\pi }{2})P_2}.$$
(2.45)
We get

$$\begin{array}{cccccc}\hfill e^0& =& R_2\mathrm{ch}\chi d\varphi ,\hfill & \hfill e^2& =& R_2d\theta ,\hfill \\ & & & & & \\ \hfill e^1& =& R_2d\chi ,\hfill & \hfill e^3& =& R_2\mathrm{sin}\theta d\phi ,\hfill \\ & & & & & \\ \hfill \vartheta ^1& =& \mathrm{sh}\chi d\varphi ,\hfill & \hfill \vartheta ^2& =& \mathrm{cos}\theta d\phi ,\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.46)
that lead, using $`B=\mathrm{diag}(+)`$ to the above $`AdS_2\times S^2`$ metric with

$$\{\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill d\mathrm{\Pi }_{(2)}^2& & \mathrm{ch}^2\chi d\varphi ^2d\chi ^2,\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill d\mathrm{\Omega }_{(2)}^2& & d\theta ^2+\mathrm{sin}^2\theta d\phi ^2.\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.47)
Contracting with $`dx^\mu `$ the $`N=2,d=4`$ Killing spinor equation

$$(_\mu +\frac{1}{8}\overline{)}F\gamma _\mu \sigma ^2)\kappa =0,$$
(2.48)
we immediately see that it takes the form

$$[d+(u\stackrel{~}{u})^1d(u\stackrel{~}{u})]=0,$$
(2.49)
where the Lie algebra generators are represented by

$$\begin{array}{cccccc}\hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_0)& =& \frac{1}{2R_2}\gamma ^1\sigma ^2,\hfill & \hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_2)& =& \frac{1}{2R_2}\gamma ^0\gamma ^1\gamma ^3\sigma ^2,\hfill \\ & & & & & \\ \hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_1)& =& \frac{1}{2R_2}\gamma ^0\sigma ^2,\hfill & \hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_3)& =& \frac{1}{2R_2}\gamma ^0\gamma ^1\gamma ^2\sigma ^2,\hfill \\ & & & & & \\ \hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M_1)& =& \frac{1}{2}\gamma ^0\gamma ^1,\hfill & \hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M_2)& =& \frac{1}{2}\gamma ^2\gamma ^3.\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.50)
The Killing spinors are, then

$$\kappa =(u\stackrel{~}{u})^1\kappa _0=e^{\frac{1}{2}\varphi \gamma ^1\sigma ^2}e^{\frac{1}{2}\chi \gamma ^0\sigma ^2}e^{\frac{1}{2}\phi \gamma ^0\gamma ^1\gamma ^2\sigma ^2}e^{\frac{1}{2}(\theta \frac{\pi }{2})\gamma ^0\gamma ^1\gamma ^3\sigma ^2}\kappa _0.$$
(2.51)
Let us now consider the bilinears $`i\overline{\kappa }\gamma ^\mu \kappa `$ and define the duals $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)`$ by

$$\mathrm{Tr}[\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_b)]=\delta ^a{}_{b}{}^{}.$$
(2.52)
Then

$$\gamma ^a=\frac{4}{R_2}𝒮\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a),𝒮=\gamma ^0\gamma ^1\sigma ^2,$$
(2.53)
and we can see that the modified charge conjugation matrix $`\stackrel{~}{𝒞}=𝒞𝒮`$ has the required property

$$\stackrel{~}{𝒞}^1\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a)^T\stackrel{~}{𝒞}=\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a),(u\stackrel{~}{u})^{1T}\stackrel{~}{𝒞}=\stackrel{~}{𝒞}u\stackrel{~}{u},$$
(2.54)
that allows us to express the bilinears in the form

$$i\overline{\kappa }_{(\alpha i)}\gamma ^a\kappa _{(\beta j)}=\frac{4i}{R_2}\left\{\stackrel{~}{𝒞}[\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(T^I)k_{(I)}+\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(\stackrel{~}{T}^I)\stackrel{~}{k}_{(I)}]\right\}_{(\alpha i\beta j)},$$
(2.55)
where the $`k_{(I)}`$s are the Killing vectors of $`AdS_2`$ and the $`\stackrel{~}{k}_{(I)}`$s are those of $`S^2`$. This translates into the anticommutator

$$\{Q_{(\alpha i)},Q_{(\beta j)}\}=i\delta _{ij}(𝒞\gamma ^a)_{\alpha \beta }P_a+\frac{i}{R_2}𝒞_{\alpha \beta }ϵ_{ij}M_1+\frac{1}{R_2}(𝒞\gamma _5)_{\alpha \beta }ϵ_{ij}M_2.$$
(2.56)
The commutators of the supercharges and the bosonic generators are given by the general formula (2.24).

### 2.3 Other $`AdS\times S`$ Solutions

There are some other maximally supersymmetric vacua of supergravity theories with metrics which are the direct product of $`AdS_n`$ and $`S^m`$ spacetimes. They typically arise in the near-horizon limit of $`p`$-brane solutions that preserve only a half of the supersymmetries  and can be used in Freund-Rubin compactifications , with $`S^m`$ as internal space, to get gauged supergravities in $`n`$ dimensions with gauge group $`SO(n+1)`$. The known cases are $`AdS_4\times S^7`$ and $`AdS_7\times S^4`$in $`N=1,d=11`$ supergravity, $`AdS_5\times S^5`$ in $`N=2B,d=10`$ supergravity, $`AdS_3\times S^3`$ in $`N=2,d=6`$ supergravity, $`AdS_2\times S^3`$  and $`AdS_3\times S^2`$  in $`N=2,d=5`$ supergravity and the Robinson-Bertotti solution $`AdS_2\times S^2`$ in $`N=2,d=4`$ that we have just studied and that can be taken as prototype.

The Killing spinors of all these solutions can be obtained in similar forms. The only complications that arise are due to the symplectic-Majorana nature of supergravity spinors in $`4<d<8`$. We are going to see next how the Killing spinors and vectors the supersymmetry algebras of $`AdS_4\times S^7`$ and $`AdS_7\times S^4`$in $`N=1,d=11`$ supergravity and $`AdS_5\times S^5`$ in $`N=2B,d=10`$ supergravity can be quickly obtained.

#### 2.3.1 $`AdS_4\times S^7`$ in $`N=1,d=11`$ Supergravity

This solution is given by

$$\{\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill ds^2& =& R_4^2d\mathrm{\Pi }_{(4)}^2(2R_4)^2d\mathrm{\Omega }_{(7)}^2,\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill G& =& \frac{3}{R_4}\omega _{AdS_4},G_{0123}=\frac{3}{R_4},\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.57)
where $`d\mathrm{\Pi }_{(4)}^2`$ stands for the metric of the $`AdS_4`$ spacetime of unit radius, $`d\mathrm{\Omega }_{(7)}^2`$ for the metric of the unit 7-sphere $`S^7`$ and $`\omega _{AdS_4}`$ for the volume 4-form of radius $`R_4`$.

We construct $`AdS_4`$ as in Section 2.1 with $`g=1/R_4`$ and this gives us the first four Elfbeins $`e^a`$ associated to the generators $`P_a`$ $`a=0,1,2,3`$ and the first 6 1-forms $`\vartheta ^{ab}=\vartheta ^{ba}`$ associated to the first 4 generators of the 11-dimensional Lorentz group $`M_{ab}`$ $`a,b=0,1,2,3`$. The detailed expressions of these 1-forms is really not necessary.

To construct the sphere of radius $`2R_4`$ we split the $`SO(8)`$ Lie algebra generators

$$[\stackrel{~}{M}_{\stackrel{~}{a}\stackrel{~}{b}},\stackrel{~}{M}_{\stackrel{~}{c}\stackrel{~}{d}}]=\delta _{\stackrel{~}{a}\stackrel{~}{c}}\stackrel{~}{M}_{\stackrel{~}{b}\stackrel{~}{d}}+\delta _{\stackrel{~}{b}\stackrel{~}{d}}\stackrel{~}{M}_{\stackrel{~}{a}\stackrel{~}{c}}\delta _{\stackrel{~}{a}\stackrel{~}{d}}\stackrel{~}{M}_{\stackrel{~}{b}\stackrel{~}{c}}\delta _{\stackrel{~}{b}\stackrel{~}{c}}\stackrel{~}{M}_{\stackrel{~}{a}\stackrel{~}{d}}.$$
(2.58)
into

$$\stackrel{~}{M}_{8i}=2R_4P_i,\stackrel{~}{M}_{ij}=M_{i+3j+3},i,j=1,\mathrm{}7,$$
(2.59)
and provide the last 7 $`P_a`$’s and Lorentz generators $`M_{ab}`$ $`a,b=4,\mathrm{},8`$. The standard procedure also gives us the associated 7 Elfbeins $`e^a`$ and 1-forms $`\vartheta ^{ab}`$ $`a,b=4,\mathrm{},8`$. Again, the detailed expressions are not necessary. The metric in Eq. (2.57) is obtained using the Killing metric of both factors $`(+\mathrm{})`$.

The general arguments given at the beginning of this section ensure that

$$dx^\mu _\mu =d\underset{a<b}{}\vartheta ^{ab}\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M_{ab}),\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M_{ab})=\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{ab},$$
(2.60)
and a straightforward calculation gives for the second piece of the Killing spinor equation

$$\frac{i}{288}\left(\mathrm{\Gamma }^{abcd}{}_{f}{}^{}e_{}^{f}8\mathrm{\Gamma }^{abc}e^d\right)G_{abcd}=e^a\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a),$$
(2.61)
where

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a)=\{\begin{array}{ccc}\frac{i}{2R_4}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{0123}\mathrm{\Gamma }_a,& & a3,\\ & & \\ \frac{i}{4R_4}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{0123}\mathrm{\Gamma }_a,& & a>3.\end{array}$$
(2.62)
The Killing spinor equation takes the general form Eq. (0.1) and is solved as usual. The specific form of the solution depends on the specific choice of coset representative, but it is unimportant in what follows.

Now, let us consider the bilinears $`i\overline{\kappa }_{(\alpha )}\mathrm{\Gamma }^a\kappa _{(\beta )}`$. Let us define generators $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)`$ dual to the $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a)`$ that are exponentiated to construct the coset representative

$$\mathrm{Tr}[\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_b)]=\delta ^a{}_{b}{}^{}.$$
(2.63)
They are given by

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)& =& \{\begin{array}{ccc}\frac{iR_4}{16}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{0123}\mathrm{\Gamma }^a,& & a3,\\ & & \\ \frac{iR_4}{8}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{0123}\mathrm{\Gamma }^a,& & a>3.\end{array},\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M^{ab})& =& \frac{1}{16}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{ab}.\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.64)
The gamma matrices that appear in the bilinears are related to these by

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }^a& =& \frac{16i}{R_4}𝒮\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a),a3,\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }^a& =& \frac{8i}{R_4}𝒮\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a),a>3,\hfill \end{array}𝒮=\mathrm{\Gamma }^{0123},$$
(2.65)
and, since the modified charge conjugation matrix $`\stackrel{~}{𝒞}=𝒞𝒮`$ has the required property

$$\stackrel{~}{𝒞}^1\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)^T\stackrel{~}{𝒞}=\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a),$$
(2.66)
the bilinears can be written in the form (suppressing the indices $`\alpha ,\beta `$)

$$i\overline{\kappa }\mathrm{\Gamma }^a\kappa =\frac{8}{R_4}\stackrel{~}{𝒞}[\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(\widehat{M}^{\widehat{a}\widehat{b}})k_{(\widehat{a}\widehat{b})}+\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(\stackrel{~}{M}^{\stackrel{~}{a}\stackrel{~}{b}})k_{(\stackrel{~}{a}\stackrel{~}{b})}],$$
(2.67)
where hatted generators and Killing vectors belong to the $`AdS_4`$ factor and the tilded ones to the $`S^7`$ factor. The anticommutator of two supercharges can be immediately read in this expression and the commutator of supercharges and bosonic charges is given by the general formula Eq. (2.24).

#### 2.3.2 $`AdS_7\times S^4`$ in $`N=1,d=11`$ Supergravity

This solution is given by

$$\{\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill ds^2& =& R_7^2d\mathrm{\Pi }_{(7)}^2(R_7/2)^2d\mathrm{\Omega }_{(4)}^2,\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill G& =& \frac{6}{R_7}\omega _{S^4},G_{\mathrm{789\hspace{0.17em}10}}=\frac{6}{R_7},\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.68)
where we use the same notation as in the preceding cases and $`\omega _{S^4}`$ stands for the volume of the sphere of radius $`R_7/2`$. The definitions of the $`P_a`$ and $`M_{ab}`$ generators and the construction of the Elfbeins etc. is almost identical to that of the preceding case and we immediately arrive at

$$dx^\mu _\mu =d\underset{a<b}{}\vartheta ^{ab}\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M_{ab}),\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M_{ab})=\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{ab}.$$
(2.69)
The 1-forms $`\vartheta ^{ab}`$ have a different form now, but we do not need to know it. The second piece of the Killing spinor equation takes the form

$$\frac{i}{288}\left(\mathrm{\Gamma }^{abcd}{}_{f}{}^{}e_{}^{f}8\mathrm{\Gamma }^{abc}e^d\right)G_{abcd}=e^a\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a),$$
(2.70)
where now

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a)=\{\begin{array}{ccc}\frac{i}{2R_7}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\mathrm{789\hspace{0.17em}10}}\mathrm{\Gamma }_a,& & a6,\\ & & \\ \frac{i}{R_4}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\mathrm{789\hspace{0.17em}10}}\mathrm{\Gamma }_a,& & a>6.\end{array}$$
(2.71)
The Elfbeins are also different, but, yet again, we do not need to know their detailed expressions. The dual generators are defined as usual and are given by

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)& =& \{\begin{array}{ccc}\frac{iR_7}{16}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\mathrm{789\hspace{0.17em}10}}\mathrm{\Gamma }^a,& & a6,\\ & & \\ \frac{iR_7}{32}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\mathrm{789\hspace{0.17em}10}}\mathrm{\Gamma }^a,& & a>6.\end{array},\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(M^{ab})& =& \frac{1}{16}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{ab}.\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.72)
and

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }^a& =& \frac{16i}{R_7}𝒮\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a),a6,\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }^a& =& \frac{32i}{R_7}𝒮\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a),a>6,\hfill \end{array}𝒮=\mathrm{\Gamma }^{\mathrm{789\hspace{0.17em}10}}.$$
(2.73)
The modified charge conjugation matrix has the property Eq. (2.66) and we get, suppressing again $`\alpha \beta `$ indices

$$i\overline{\kappa }\mathrm{\Gamma }^a\kappa =\frac{8}{R_7}\stackrel{~}{𝒞}[\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(\widehat{M}^{\widehat{a}\widehat{b}})k_{(\widehat{a}\widehat{b})}2\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(\stackrel{~}{M}^{\stackrel{~}{a}\stackrel{~}{b}})k_{(\stackrel{~}{a}\stackrel{~}{b})}],$$
(2.74)
where hatted generators and Killing vectors belong to the $`AdS_7`$ factor and the tilded ones to the $`S^4`$ factor. Again, the anticommutator of two supercharges can be immediately read in this expression and the commutator of supercharges and bosonic charges is given by the general formula Eq. (2.24).

#### 2.3.3 $`AdS_5\times S^5`$ in $`N=2B,d=10`$ Supergravity

The solution is given in the string frame by

$$\{\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill ds^2& =& R_5^2d\mathrm{\Pi }_{(5)}^2R_5^2d\mathrm{\Omega }_{(5)}^2,\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill G^{(5)}& =& \frac{4e^{\phi _0}}{R_5}(\omega _{AdS_5}+\omega _{S^5}),G_{01234}^{(5)}=G_{56789}^{(5)}=\frac{4e^{\phi _0}}{R_5},\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill \phi & =& \phi _0.\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.75)
This case is exactly analogous to the previous ones. The normalization in the splitting of the generators of $`SO(2,4)`$ and $`SO(6)`$ is now, respectively:

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill \widehat{M}_{a1}& =& R_5P_a,(a=0,\mathrm{},4)\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill \stackrel{~}{M}_{6a}& =& R_5P_a,(a=5,\mathrm{},9).\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.76)
Once again we do not need to know the explicit form of the Zehnbeins. From the covariant derivative term in the gravitino supersymmetry transformation (the variation of the dilatino vanishes automatically) we get the generators of $`SO(1,4)`$ and $`SO(5)`$ in the spinor representation. From the remaining piece:

$$\frac{1}{165!}e^{\phi _0}G_{bcdef}^{(5)}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{bcdef}\mathrm{\Gamma }_ai\sigma ^2=e^a\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a),$$
(2.77)
we read the spinor representation for the generators $`P_a`$131313Here there is another (completely equivalent, since we are dealing with chiral spinors) possibility, consisting in replacing $`\mathrm{\Gamma }^{01234}`$ by $`\mathrm{\Gamma }^{56789}`$.

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a)=\{\begin{array}{c}\frac{i}{2R_5}\sigma ^2\mathrm{\Gamma }^{01234}\mathrm{\Gamma }_a,(a=0,\mathrm{},4)\\ \\ \frac{i}{2R_5}\sigma ^2\mathrm{\Gamma }^{01234}\mathrm{\Gamma }_a.(a=5,\mathrm{},9)\end{array}$$
(2.78)
The dual generators are

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)=\frac{iR_5}{32}\sigma ^2\mathrm{\Gamma }^{01234}\mathrm{\Gamma }^a,\mathrm{\Gamma }^a=\frac{32i}{R_5}𝒮\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a),𝒮=\sigma ^2\mathrm{\Gamma }^{01234},$$
(2.79)
and the modified charge conjugation matrix has the required property Eq. (2.66) that leads to

$$i\overline{\kappa }\mathrm{\Gamma }^a\kappa =\frac{32}{R_5}\stackrel{~}{𝒞}[\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(\widehat{M}^{\widehat{a}\widehat{b}})k_{(\widehat{a}\widehat{b})}+\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(\stackrel{~}{M}^{\stackrel{~}{a}\stackrel{~}{b}})k_{(\stackrel{~}{a}\stackrel{~}{b})}].$$
(2.80)
### 2.4 H$`pp`$-wave Spacetimes and the $`KG4,5,6,10,11`$ Solutions

Although maximally supersymmetric $`pp`$-wave solutions were discovered long time ago by Kowalski-Glikman in $`N=2,d=4`$ and $`N=1,d=11`$ supergravity , only recently they have received wide attention. This renewed interest has been accompanied with the discovery of new maximally supersymmetric solutions of the same kind (henceforth $`KG`$ solutions) in $`N=2B,d=10`$ supergravity  and in $`N=2,d=5,6`$ supergravities , and by the realization that they can be obtained by taking a Penrose limit  of the known $`AdS\times S`$ maximally supersymmetric solutions .

The $`KG`$ solutions are particular examples of homogeneous $`pp`$-wave spacetimes (H$`pp`$-waves), symmetric spacetimes to which we can apply our formalism. Let us review briefly the coset construction that leads to them .

The generators of $`𝔤`$ in H$`pp`$-wave spacetimes are $`\{T_{},T_+,T_i,T_i\}`$ $`i=1,\mathrm{},d2`$ and their non-vanishing Lie brackets are

$$[T_{},T_i]=T_i,[T_{},T_i]=A_{ij}T_j,[T_i,T_j]=A_{ij}T_+,A_{ij}=A_{ji}.$$
(2.81)
$`T_+`$ is central in this Lie algebra. The subalgebra $`𝔥`$ is generated by the $`T_iM_i`$ and $`𝔨`$ is generated by $`T_{}P_{},T_+P_+,T_iP_i`$, and the coset representative is chosen to be

$$u=e^{x^{}P_{}}e^{x^+P_+}e^{x^iP_i},$$
(2.82)
which lead to the Maurer-Cartan 1-form

$$V=u^1du=dx^{}P_{}(dx^++\frac{1}{2}x^ix^jA_{ij}dx^{})P_+dx^iP_ix^idx^{}M_i.$$
(2.83)
Since $`𝔤`$ is not semisimple, its Killing metric is singular and cannot be used to construct a $`G`$-invariant metric. Instead, we choose141414The metric $`B_+=1,B_{ij}=\delta _{ij}`$ is not invariant under the action of $`𝔥`$ on $`𝔨`$. Thus, we are forced to work with mostly plus signature in this section.

$$B_+=1,B_{ij}=+\delta _{ij},$$
(2.84)
and we get the general H$`pp`$-wave metric

$$ds^2=2dx^{}(dx^++\frac{1}{2}x^ix^jA_{ij}dx^{})+dx^idx^i.$$
(2.85)
Different H$`pp`$-wave metrics are characterized by the matrix $`A_{ij}`$ up to $`SO(d2)`$ rotations. On the other hand (and this is an important difference with the previous cases), the H$`pp`$-wave metric can have more isometries: all possible rotations of the $`x^i`$ that preserve the matrix $`A_{ij}`$. These rotations do not belong to $`𝔤`$ and the corresponding Killing vectors cannot be found by applying Eq. (1.20).

Let us now consider the $`KG11`$ solution. Its metric is of the above general H$`pp`$-wave form, with $`A_{ij}`$ and the 4-form field strength given by

$$G_{123}=\lambda ,A_{ij}=\{\begin{array}{ccc}\frac{1}{9}\lambda ^2\delta _{ij}& & i,j=1,2,3,\hfill \\ & & \\ \frac{1}{36}\lambda ^2\delta _{ij}& & i,j=4,\mathrm{},9.\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.86)
This solution is additionally invariant under rotations in the subspaces parametrized by $`x^1,x^2,x^3`$ and $`x^4,\mathrm{},x^9`$. Let us now consider the Killing spinor equation. According to the general construction, we only need to compute the $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ part that involves the 4-form field strength. This can be written in the form $`e^a\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_a)`$ with

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_{})& =& \frac{\lambda }{12}(\mathrm{\Gamma }^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }^++1)\mathrm{\Gamma }^{123},\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_+)& =& 0,\hfill \\ & & \\ \hfill \mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P_i)& =& \{\begin{array}{c}\frac{\lambda }{6}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{123}\mathrm{\Gamma }_i,i=1,2,3,\\ \\ \frac{\lambda }{12}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{123}\mathrm{\Gamma }_i,i=4,\mathrm{},9,\end{array}\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.87)
and the Killing spinor has the same form as usual, the only difference being that one of the $`P_a`$ generators ($`P_+`$)is represented by zero and does not contribute to the coset representative $`u`$. The general formula Eq. (2.24) can be used to calculate the commutators of supercharges and bosonic generators. We see that $`P_+`$ is a central charge also in the superalgebra . The calculation of the anticommutators of supercharges is more complicated, though, basically because we can construct duals

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_s(P^a)\mathrm{\Gamma }^{+123}\mathrm{\Gamma }^a,$$
(2.88)
but the matrix $`\mathrm{\Gamma }^{+123}`$ is singular and the relation cannot be inverted. This is related to the existence of the extra rotational Killing vectors $`k_{(ij)}`$ that do appear in the bilinear $`i\overline{\kappa }_{(\alpha )}\mathrm{\Gamma }^a\kappa e_a`$ . The above equation can in fact be used to relate the Killing vectors $`k_{(I)}`$ to some of all the possible bilinears. The additional Killing vectors $`k_{(ij)}`$ appear in the other bilinears (associated to the anticommutators $`\{Q_{},Q_{}\}`$ in the notation of Ref. ).

## 3 Conclusions

In this paper we have checked in almost all known maximally supersymmetric backgrounds that the Killing spinor equation can be set in the form Eq. (0.1) and we have shown how this can be exploited to calculate their supersymmetry algebras using results from the theory of symmetric spaces.

There are two exceptional cases: the $`KG`$ spaces, for which it is not easy to compute all the possible anticommutators $`\{Q_{(\alpha )},Q_{(\beta )}\}`$ and the maximally supersymmetric solution that can be obtained by taking the near-horizon limit of the 5-dimensional extreme rotating black hole  whose description as symmetric space is not known.

The obvious extension of this work is to backgrounds with less supersymmetry, like those that can be obtained by replacing the sphere in $`AdS\times S`$ solutions by another homogeneous space with the right curvature . Work in this direction is in progress.

Note added in Proof: the authors are indebted to the Referee for pointing out to us the actual group-theoretical reason due to which, in the case of Hpp-wave geometries, not all the Killing vectors can be found by using eq.(1.20). This is because the complete isometry group of the considered Hpp-wave solutions is a semi-direct product of the group defined in eq.(2.81) and the group of additional isometries and, since the coset space only belongs to one of the factors in this semi-direct product, (1.20) does not produce the Killing vectors corresponding to the other factor (the rotational isometries of the wave-front).

## Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank P. Meessen for many useful discussions. T.O. would like to thank M.M. Fernández for her continuous support. This work has been partially supported by the Spanish grant FPA2000-1584.


format: text

text:
# References

One-parameter Darboux transformations in Thermodynamics

Haret C. Rosu111E-mail: hcr@ipicyt.edu.mx
Contribution at the AIP 1st International Conference on Quantum Limits to the Second Law, San Diego, CA, (main organizer: D.P. Sheehan), end of July 2002, tentative publication schedule: Dec. 2002.

Applied Mathematics Dept., IPICyT, Apdo Postal 3-74 Tangamanga,

San Luis Potosí, SLP, Mexico

## Abstract

The quantum oscillator thermodynamic actions are the conjugate intensive parameters for the frequency in any frequency changing process. These oscillator actions fulfill simple Riccati equations. Interesting Darboux transformations of the fundamental Planck and pure vacuum actions are discussed here in some detail. It is shown that the one-parameter “Darboux-Transformed-Thermodynamics” refers to superpositions of boson and fermion excitations of positive and negative absolute temperature, respectively. A Darboux generalization of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem is also briefly sketched.

Using the Planck energy distribution of a quantum oscillator one can define an action function

$$f_P(x)=\frac{U_P}{\omega }=\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}+\frac{\mathrm{}}{\mathrm{exp}(\mathrm{}x)1}=\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}\mathrm{coth}\left(\frac{\mathrm{}x}{2}\right),$$
(1)
where $`x=\beta \omega `$. This action plays the role of a generalized force in any process of frequency change performed by the oscillator.

The point now is that the function $`f_P(x)`$ fulfills as particular solution the following Riccati equation

$$\frac{df}{dx}+f^2=\left(\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}\right)^2.$$
(2)
As a matter of fact, the constant vacuum action $`f_V=\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}`$ is also a solution of the same Riccati equation, whereas the pure thermal action $`f_T=\frac{\mathrm{}}{\mathrm{exp}(\mathrm{}x)1}`$ is a particular solution of the following equation

$$\frac{df}{dx}+\mathrm{}f+f^2=0,$$
(3)
which is again a particular type of Riccati equation (a Bernoulli equation). Since the Riccati equation is a main ingredient in supersymmetric quantum mechanics  we would like to present here some thermodynamic consequences of using methods belonging to the area which focus on one-parameter Darboux transformations of thermodynamic actions.

In supersymmetric quantum mechanics , which is a simple application of Darboux transformations , one usually starts with a known particular solution of a Riccati equation without linear term

$$\frac{df_p}{dx}+f_p^2=V_1(x)$$
(4)
that we call the bosonic Riccati equation. We are not interested here in a so-called factorization constant that can be placed at the right hand side. The function $`V_1`$ is an exactly solvable potential for the (“imaginary-time”) Schrödinger equation at zero energy

$$\left(\frac{d}{dx}+f_p\right)\left(\frac{d}{dx}f_p\right)w_b=\frac{d^2w_b}{dx^2}V_1(x)w_b=0.$$
(5)
The particular solution $`w_b`$ is usually called a bosonic zero mode. It is connected to the Riccati solution through $`f_p=\frac{1}{w_b}dw_b/dx`$. Next, changing the sign of the first derivative in Eq. (4) one calculates the outcome $`V_2(x)`$ using the same Riccati solution

$$\frac{df_p}{dx}+f_p^2=V_2(x).$$
(6)
We call the latter equation the fermionic Riccati equation. The function $`V_2(x)`$ is known as the supersymmetric partner of the initial potential $`V_1(x)`$. The corresponding zero mode fulfills

$$\left(\frac{d}{dx}f_p\right)\left(\frac{d}{dx}+f_p\right)w_f=\frac{d^2w_f}{dx^2}V_2(x)w_f=0.$$
(7)
On the other hand, already in 1984, Mielnik  studied the ambiguity of the factorization of the Schrödinger equation for the oscillator that led him to the general (one-parameter-dependent) solution of the companion Riccati equation for that case. In other words, one looks for the general solution

$$\frac{df_g}{dx}+f_g^2=\frac{df_p}{dx}+f_p^2=V_2(x).$$
(8)
The latter equation can be solved for $`f_g`$ by employing the Bernoulli ansatz $`f_g(x)=f_p(x)\frac{1}{v(x)}`$, where $`v(x)`$ is an unknown function . One obtains for the function $`v(x)`$ the following Bernoulli equation

$$\frac{dv(x)}{dx}+2v(x)f_p(x)=1$$
(9)
that has the solution

$$v(x)=\frac{_{0b}(x)+\lambda }{w_b^2(x)},$$
(10)
where $`_{0b}(x)=_0^xw_b^2(y)𝑑y`$, and we consider $`\lambda `$ as a positive integration constant that is employed as a free parameter.

Thus, the general fermionic Riccati solution is a one-parameter function $`f_g(x;\lambda )`$ of the following form

$$f_g(x;\lambda )=f_p(x)\frac{d}{dx}\left[\mathrm{ln}(_{0b}(x)+\lambda )\right]=\frac{d}{dx}\left[\mathrm{ln}\left(\frac{w_b(x)}{[_{0b}(x)+\lambda ]}\right)\right]=\frac{d}{dx}\mathrm{ln}w_b(x;\lambda )$$
(11)
where $`w_b(x;\lambda )=\frac{w_b(x)}{_{0b}(x)+\lambda }`$. The range of the $`\lambda `$ parameter is conditioned by $`_0(x)+\lambda 0`$ in order to avoid singularities. This is a well-known restriction . According to the supersymmetric construction one can use this general fermionic Riccati solution to calculate a one-parameter family of bosonic potentials as follows

$$\frac{df_g}{dx}+f_g^2=V_{1,g},$$
(12)
where

$$V_{1,g}=V_12\frac{d^2}{dx^2}\mathrm{ln}\left(_{0b}(x)+\lambda \right)$$
(13)
enters the linear equation

$$\left(\frac{d}{dx}+f_g\right)\left(\frac{d}{dx}f_g\right)w_b(x;\lambda )=\frac{d^2w_b(x;\lambda )}{dx^2}V_{1,g}w_b(x;\lambda )=0.$$
(14)
In the limit $`\lambda \mathrm{}`$, Eq. (12) goes into Eq. (4) because $`f_gf_p`$ and $`V_{1,g}V_1`$.

One can think of Eq. (12) as a generalization of the thermodynamic Riccati equation (2). Of interest are the one-parameter oscillator actions $`f_g`$ rather than the ‘potentials’ $`V_{1,g}`$. Since in supersymmetric quantum mechanics $`V_{1,g}`$ are the general Darboux-transformed potentials, we shall call the functions $`f_g`$ as Darboux-transformed actions.

Going now back to Eq. (2) and using $`f=w^{}/w`$, where the prime denotes the derivative with respect to $`x`$, one gets the linear equation

$$w^{^{\prime \prime }}\left(\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}\right)^2w=0,$$
(15)
having the particular zero-mode solution $`w_a=W_a\mathrm{sinh}(\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}x)`$. Thus, the general Riccati solution is a one-parameter function $`f_{gP}(x;\lambda )`$ of the following form

$$f_{gP}(x;\lambda )=f_P(x)\frac{d}{dx}\left[\mathrm{ln}(_{0a}(x)+\lambda )\right]=\frac{d}{dx}\left[\mathrm{ln}\left(\frac{w_a(x)}{[_{0a}(x)+\lambda ]}\right)\right].$$
(16)
For the vacuum case the particular Riccati solution is the vacuum action $`f_p=f_V=\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}`$. The corresponding zero mode is $`w_Ve^{\mathrm{}x/2}`$. The usual entropy of the vacuum fluctuations is zero whereas the modified entropy based on $`f_{gV}`$ has a kink-like behavior between the $`\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}`$ (bosonic) solution and the $`\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}`$ (fermionic) solution.

One can also use the general zero-mode $`w_g=Ae^{\mathrm{}x/2}+Be^{\mathrm{}x/2}`$ as solution in Eq. (5). The Planck action corresponds to $`A=B=\frac{1}{2}`$ (antisymmetric zero-mode), while the vacuum case to $`A=`$ arbitrary and $`B=0`$. A very interesting case corresponds to the symmetric zero-mode, $`A=B=\frac{1}{2}`$, $`w_s=W_s\mathrm{cosh}(\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}x)`$, since if we trace back to the action we get

$$f_s=\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}+\frac{\mathrm{}}{\mathrm{exp}(\mathrm{}x)+1},$$
(17)
i.e., a Fermi-Dirac action for negative $`x`$. We have shown in a previous paper that the $`\lambda `$ parameter is equivalent to the quotient $`A/B`$ . Thus, the general Riccati solution introduces effects of the second linear independent solution. The problem then turns into a subtle interpretation of the mathematical results. We have found at least one possible physical significance. For the Planck case, the second linear independent zero-mode is exactly the $`\mathrm{cosh}`$ function and the corresponding action is the aforementioned Fermi-Dirac action of negative $`x`$. We attach the minus sign to the temperature parameter in $`x=\omega /T`$ rather than to $`\omega `$ and recall that the issue of negative absolute (spin) temperatures first appeared in Physics in 1951 when Purcell and Pound were able to produce sudden reversals of the direction of an external magnetic field applied to a crystal of LiF . Since then many other experiments with negative temperatures have been devised in nuclear spin systems and the corresponding ‘violations’ of the second law of thermodynamics were a subject of discussion . Thus, the one-parameter Darboux transformations of the Planck action are a way of introducing the effect of a Fermi-Dirac action of negative absolute temperature.

Another interesting application refers to dissipative $`RLC`$ systems where the oscillator action enters Nyquist-Johnson spectral power noise distributions of the type (fluctuation-dissipation theorem )

$$P(\omega ,\beta )=\frac{\omega }{\pi }R(\omega ,\beta )f_P.$$
(18)
One can think of the corresponding generalization

$$P(\omega ,\beta ;\lambda )=\frac{\omega }{\pi }R(\omega ,\beta )f_g(\beta \omega ;\lambda )$$
(19)
and hope to study even in simple experiments the significance of this Darboux generalization of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem.

In conclusion, Planck’s thermodynamic oscillator action can be generalized to a one parameter Darboux family of actions. We also consider the bosonic vacuum case separately in the same way. The Planck action and the pure vacuum case correspond to the asymptotic limit of the Darboux parameter $`\lambda \mathrm{}`$. In the Planck case, all the other $`\lambda `$ cases correspond to a system made of bosons at temperature $`T`$ interacting with an equal system of fermions at temperature $`T`$. In the vacuum case, the $`\lambda \mathrm{}`$ cases describe the interaction of the bosonic and fermionic vacua. Using the procedure proposed by Arnaud, Chusseau and Philippe  we have calculated the efficiencies of the ideal oscillator Carnot cycles based on the Darboux-modified Planck and vacuum entropies in a previous work . Systems of negative Kelvin temperatures are hotter than those of positive $`T`$  and therefore they always represent the hot bath. In real, dissipative cases, the same type of generalization is suggested for the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. Finally, we mention that a multiple-parameter Darboux generalization is also possible . The experimental nature of the $`\lambda `$ parameter is an open issue.