Framed M-branes, corners, and topological invariants
Framed M-branes, corners, and topological invariants
We uncover and highlight relations between the M-branes in M-theory and various topological invariants: the Hopf invariant over $\mathbb{Q}$, $\mathbb{Z}$ and $\mathbb{Z}_2$, the Kervaire invariant, the $f$-invariant, and the $\nu$-invariant. This requires either a framing or a corner structure. The canonical framing provides a minimum for the classical action and …