Abstract

Some dynamical aspects of five-dimensional supergravity as a Chern-Simons theory for the SU ( 2, 2 | N ) group, are analyzed. The gravitational sector is described by the Einstein-Hilbert action with negative cosmological constant and a Gauss-Bonnet term with a fixed coupling. The interaction between matter and gravity is characterized by intricate couplings which give rise to dynamical features not present in standard theories. Depending on the location in phase space, the dynamics can possess different number of propagating degrees of freedom, including purely topological sectors. This inhomogeneity of phase space requires special care in the analysis. Background solutions in the canonical sectors, which have regular dynamics with maximal number of degrees of freedom, are shown to exist. Within this class, explicit solutions given by locally AdS spacetimes with nontrivial gauge fields are constructed, and BPS states are identified. It is shown that the charge algebra acquires a central extension due to the presence of the matter fields. The Bogomol'nyi bound for these charges is discussed. Special attention is devoted to the N = 4 case since then the gauge group has a U ( 1 ) central charge and the phase space possesses additional irregular sectors. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.