1/2-BPS membrane instantons in AdS(4) x S-7/Z(k)

Abstract

According to the covariant open superstring description of D-branes in the AdS(4) x CP3 background, 1/2-BPS D2-branes are purely instantonic. Based on this and by taking the eleven dimensional viewpoint, we identify the 1/2-BPS instantonic M2-brane configurations in the AdS(4) x S-7/Z(k) background, which reduces to the AdS(4) x CP3 under the large k limit, and evaluate their action values. We also consider the previously known 1/2-BPS instantonic objects in ten dimensions from the M2-brane viewpoint to compare with our results.