Chern-Simons supersymmetric branes

The purpose of this paper is to continue the study of the class of models p roposed in a previous letter. The model corresponds to a system of branes o f diverse dimensionalities with Chern-Simons actions for a supergroup, embe dded in a background described also by a Chern-Simons action. The model tre ats the background and the branes on an equal footing, providing a "brane-t arget space democracy". Here we suggest some possible extensions of the ori ginal model, and discuss its equations of motion, as well as the issue of c urrents and charges carried by the branes. We also discuss the relationship with M-theory and Superstring theory. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All r ights reserved.