Supergravity and IOSp(3,1|4) gauge theory

Abstract

A new formulation of simple D=4 supergravity in terms of the geometry of superspace is presented. The formulation is derived from the gauge theory of the inhomogeneous orthosymplectic group IOSp(3,1|4) on a (4,4)-dimensional base supermanifold by imposing constraints and taking a limit. Both the constraints and the limiting procedure have a clear a priori physical motivation, arising from the relationship between IOSp(3,1|4) and the super Poincaré group. The construction has similarities with the space-time formulation of Newtonian gravity.