English

The $T^{\mu\nu}$ of the conformal scalars

High Energy Physics - Theory 2026-03-05 v2

Abstract

We construct the unique primary energy-momentum tensor TμνT^{\mu\nu} for the conformal free scalar with scaling dimension Δ=d/2ζ\Delta=d/2-\zeta as a sum of Gegenbauer polynomials. For integer ζ\zeta, the sum truncates at order ζ\zeta, compactly reproducing all known results; for the nonlocal case of real ζ\zeta, it is an infinite sum, with a two-parameter extension that reflects the nonuniqueness of the nonlocal geometric coupling. We find TμνT^{\mu\nu} by imposing off-shell conservation and tracelessness, and then directly solving the primary condition in momentum space. In the integer ζ\zeta case, we reproduce the known two-point function, and confirm the match with the TμνT^{\mu\nu} computed from Juhl's formulae for the GJMS operators (the Weyl-covariant upgrades of (2)ζ(-\partial^2)^\zeta), an equality following from the descent of Weyl covariance to conformal invariance.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.05311,
  title  = {The $T^{\mu\nu}$ of the conformal scalars},
  author = {Kit Fraser-Taliente and Ludo Fraser-Taliente},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.05311},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

39 + 11 pages