Lagrangian formulations of self-dual gauge theories in diverse dimensions

In this work, we study Lagrangian formulations for self-dual gauge theories, also known as chiral n-form gauge theories, for n = 2p in D = 4p + 2 dimensional spacetime. Motivated by a recent formulation of M5-branes derived from the BLG model, we generalize the earlier Lagrangian formulation based on a decomposition of spacetime into (D - 1) dimensions plus a special dimension, to construct Lagrangian formulations based on a generic decomposition of spacetime into D' and D '' = D - D' dimensions. Although the Lorentz symmetry is not manifest, we prove that the action is invariant under modified Lorentz transformations. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.