E11 and exceptional field theory

Abstract

We argue that the exceptional field theory is a truncation of the nonlinear realisation of the semi-direct product of [Formula: see text] and its first fundamental as proposed in 2003. Evaluating the simple equations of the [Formula: see text] approach, and using the commutators of the [Formula: see text] algebra, we find the local variations of the fields of exceptional field theory after making a radical truncation. This procedure does not respect any of the higher level [Formula: see text] symmetries and so these are lost. We suggest that the need for the section condition in the exceptional field theory could be a consequence of the truncation.