A classification of compactifying solutions for d =11 supergravity

Supergravity in eleven dimensions is known to have classical solutions of the type (anti-de Sitter space-time) × (7-dimensional Einstein space). We give a list of all homogeneous 7-manifolds which admit an Einstein metric. Known solutions are reviewed, with some emphasis on the SU(3) × SU(2) × U(1) compactifications. Their topology is discussed in detail. The list includes three new solutions, with symmetry groups SU(3) × SU(2), SO(5) and SO(5) × U(1). The first solution has no supersymmetry, while the second and third yield respectively N = 1 and N = 2 supersymmetry in four dimensions. The last two solutions may be extended to solutions with nonzero internal photon curl, breaking all supersymmetry. The existence of a spin structure on homogeneous manifolds G H is discussed and related to topological properties of G H. As an illustration, we treat the coset spaces SU(m + 1) × SU(n + 1)/SU(m) × SU(n) × U(1), which include the spaces with SU(3) × SU(2) × U(1) symmetry.