A brief review of E theory

Abstract

I begin with some memories of Abdus Salam who was my PhD supervisor. After reviewing the theory of nonlinear realisations and Kac–Moody algebras, I explain how to construct the nonlinear realisation based on the Kac–Moody algebra [Formula: see text] and its vector representation. I explain how this field theory leads to dynamical equations which contain an infinite number of fields defined on a space–time with an infinite number of coordinates. I then show that these unique dynamical equations, when truncated to low level fields and the usual coordinates of space–time, lead to precisely the equations of motion of 11-dimensional supergravity theory. By taking different group decompositions of [Formula: see text] we find all the maximal supergravity theories, including the gauged maximal supergravities, and as a result the nonlinear realisation should be thought of as a unified theory that is the low energy effective action for type II strings and branes. These results essentially confirm the [Formula: see text] conjecture given many years ago.