Related papers: On Topologically Massive Spin-2 Gauge Theories bey…
We show how the pseudo-linear interactions for spin-2 particles can be straightforwardly extended to include multiple massive and massless fields without introducing ghosts. When massive spin-2 fields are included, these give simple…
We study higher dimensional field theories with extra dimensions from a 4d spectrum point of view. It is shown that 4d mass spectra of spinor, gauge and gravity field theories are governed by quantum-mechanical supersymmetry. The 4d…
Minimal massive gravity in three dimensions propagates a single massive spin-2 mode around an AdS vacuum. It is distinguished by allowing for vacua with positive central charges of the asymptotic conformal algebra and a bulk graviton of…
We rederive the recently introduced $N=2$ topological gauge theories, representing the Euler characteristic of moduli spaces ${\cal M}$ of connections, from supersymmetric quantum mechanics on the infinite dimensional spaces ${\cal A}/{\cal…
The proposal that a strong coupling limit of the five-dimensional type II string theory (M-theory compactified on a 6-torus) in which the Planck length becomes infinite could give a six-dimensional superconformal phase of M-theory is…
We analyze (2+1)-dimensional gravity with a Chern--Simons term and a negative cosmological constant, primarily at the weak field level. The full theory is expressible as the sum of two higher derivative SL(2,R) "vector" Chern-Simons terms,…
We study $(2,2)$ and $(4,4)$ supersymmetric theories with superspace higher derivatives in two dimensions. A characteristic feature of these models is that they have several different vacua, some of which break supersymmetry. Depending on…
Lattice gauge theories are a powerful language to theoretically describe a variety of strongly correlated systems, including frustrated magnets, high-$T_c$ superconductors, and topological phases. However, in many cases gauge fields couple…
A particular higher-derivative extension of the Einstein-Hilbert action in three spacetime dimensions is shown to be equivalent at the linearized level to the (unitary) Pauli-Fierz action for a massive spin-2 field. A more general model,…
Nonlinear covariant parity-violating deformations of free spin-two gauge theory are studied in n>2 spacetime dimensions, using a linearized frame and spin-connection formalism, for a set of massless spin-two fields. It is shown that the…
We analyze AdS and dS swampland conjectures in a three-dimensional higher spin theory with self-interacting matter, which contains conformal gravity and is almost topological. A theory of a similar type was proposed as the effective theory…
The well known N=2 string theory describes self-dual gravity, as was shown by Ooguri and Vafa sometime ago. In search of a variant of this theory which would describe self-dual supergravity in 2+2 dimensions, we have constructed two new N=2…
Employing the world line spinning particle picture we discuss the appearance of several different `gauges' which we use to gain a deeper explanation of the Collective/Gravity identification. We discuss transformations and algebraic…
We consider theories of three dimensional quantum gravity in Anti-de Sitter space which possess massless higher-spin gauge symmetry. The perturbative spectrum of the theory includes higher spin excitations which can be organized into vacuum…
We present a Lagrangian describing a massive charged spin-2 field and a scalar in a constant electromagnetic background, and we provide a consistent description of the system. The Lagrangian, derived from string field theory through a…
A discussion of the number of degrees of freedom, and their dynamical properties, in higher derivative gravitational theories is presented. The complete non-linear sigma model for these degrees of freedom is exhibited using the method of…
The (m^2,\Lambda) plane of spin s>1 massive fields in (A)dS backgrounds is shown to consist of separate phases, divided by lines of novel ``partially massless'' gauge theories that successively remove helicities, starting from the lowest, 0…
We construct a higher lattice gauge theory based on the representation of 2-groups described by a category of crossed modules on a lattice model described by path 2-groupoids. Using these lattice gauge representations, an exactly solvable…
An infinite number of topological conformal algebras with varying central charges are explicitly shown to be present in $2d$ gravity (treated both in the conformal gauge and in the light-cone gauge) coupled to minimal matter. The central…
Non-abelian higher gauge theory has recently emerged as a generalization of standard gauge theory to higher dimensional (2-dimensional in the present context) connection forms, and as such, it has been successfully applied to the…