English

A note on spin two fields in curved backgrounds

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2008-11-26 v2 Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Theory

Abstract

We reconsider the consistency constraints on a free massless symmetric, rank 2, tensor field in a background and confirm that they uniquely require it to be the linear deviation about (cosmological) Einstein gravity. Neither adding non-minimal higher derivative terms nor changing the gauge transformations by allowing terms non-analytic in the cosmological constant alters this fact.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.gr-qc/0611157,
  title  = {A note on spin two fields in curved backgrounds},
  author = {S. Deser and M. Henneaux},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:gr-qc/0611157},
  year   = {2008}
}

Comments

5 pages - Minor misprints corrected - Version accepted by Class. Quant. Grav