The plan II

From a Youtube comment I posted today. "Here" refers to Curt Jaimungal's 3-hour "iceberg" video about GU. 

If you want to study it, I would suggest the following sequence of topics: the 14-dimensional field content and equations of motion (layer 2 here), viewed classically; the derivation of standard 4-dimensional field equations from the 14-dimensional equations (layer 3 here); and finally the quantum theory. This "classical first" approach means focusing on the bosonic field content. It would be nice if we knew something, analytical or numerical, about solutions to classical GU - they would be relevant for any quantum version too, e.g. by way of their role in a path integral. 

Another angle you could take, is to use aspects of Seiberg-Witten theory as a guide. Eric says he came up with his version of the Seiberg-Witten equations while contemplating moduli spaces of solutions to a toy model of GU. You could also look at his dissertation, and at the paper by Baulieu et al ("Special Quantum Field Theories in Eight and Other Dimensions"), that cites his dissertation for more inspiration of this kind. Baulieu et al is also of interest because it describes field theories with a boson-fermion relationship that is not a standard supersymmetry, but rather a form of BRST symmetry, and Eric may have this in mind when he talks about a kind of SUSY for his 14-dimensional field theory. 

What I'm saying here, is that studying moduli spaces of solutions to all these simpler theories, may set you up to tackle solutions of full GU. At this point I'm describing a research program rather than just a study plan, but since GU has at this point a mostly formal existence, this is what's required to advance it to the level of calculation.