Abstract
The field equations of supergravity in dimensions admit a spontaneous compactification on the seven-sphere to an theory in with local SO(8) invariance. A spontaneously broken version of this theory is provided by another solution of the field equations for which the metric on is distorted. The isometry group of this new solution is SO(5) ⊗ SU(2), the relevant holonomy group is , and the supersymmetry is broken down to at the Planck scale. The implications for grand unified theories are briefly discussed.
- Received 9 December 1982
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.50.294
©1983 American Physical Society