Minimal Massive Gravity Coupled to Higher Spins

Franz Ciceri; Nihat Sadik Deger; Bastien Duboeuf; Henning Samtleben

Minimal Massive Gravity Coupled to Higher Spins

High Energy Physics - Theory 2026-07-31 v1

Authors: Franz Ciceri , Nihat Sadik Deger , Bastien Duboeuf , Henning Samtleben

Abstract

Among three-dimensional massive gravities, Minimal Massive Gravity (MMG) is distinguished by a parameter regime in which the AdS bulk theory and the dual conformal field theory can be simultaneously unitary. We couple MMG to a finite tower of higher-spins by promoting the fields of its first-order formulation to $\mathfrak{sl}(N)$ -valued ones. We also present an extended formulation involving a group-valued St\"uckelberg scalar, which realizes the higher-spin translations broken by the massive deformation. We then construct AdS $_2\times$ S $^1$ solutions carrying higher-spin hair specific to the massive theory. Finally, we analyse the mass spectrum of the higher-spin modes around AdS $_3$ .

Cite

@article{arxiv.2608.00185,
  title  = {Minimal Massive Gravity Coupled to Higher Spins},
  author = {Franz Ciceri and Nihat Sadik Deger and Bastien Duboeuf and Henning Samtleben},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2608.00185},
  year   = {2026}
}

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26 pages