Related papers: Flat-Space Chiral Gravity
We consider the coupling of scalar topological matter to (2+1)-dimensional gravity. The matter fields consist of a 0-form scalar field and a 2-form tensor field. We carry out a canonical analysis of the classical theory, investigating its…
We construct a massive spin-2 theory in 2+1 dimensions that is immune to the bulk-boundary unitarity conflict in anti-de Sitter space and hence amenable to holography. The theory is an extension of Topologically Massive Gravity, just like…
In this note I derive the flat space limit of the modified Cardy formula associated with inner horizons and show that it reproduces the correct Galilean conformal field theory counting of flat space cosmology microstates. l also determine…
We introduce a notion of topological M-theory and argue that it provides a unification of form theories of gravity in various dimensions. Its classical solutions involve G_2 holonomy metrics on 7-manifolds, obtained from a topological…
Flat space cosmology spacetimes are exact time-dependent solutions of 3-dimensional gravity theories, such as Einstein gravity or topologically massive gravity. We exhibit a novel kind of phase transition between these cosmological…
We propose a model of quantum gravity in arbitrary dimensions defined in terms of the BV quantization of a supersymmetric, infinite dimensional matrix model. This gives an (AKSZ-type) Chern-Simons theory with gauge algebra the space of…
A new class of conformal field theories is presented, where the background gravitational field is conformally flat. Conformally flat (CF) spacetimes enjoy conformal properties quite similar to the ones of flat spacetime. The conformal…
{\it If gravity is a metric field by Einstein, it is a Higgs field.} Gravitation theory meets spontaneous symmetry breaking in accordance with the Equivalence Principle reformulated in the spirit of Klein-Chern geometries of invariants. In…
Instantons, monopoles and vortices have become paradigms of topological structures in field theory and quantum mechanics, with important applications in particle physics, astrophysics, condensed matter physics and mathematics. We have…
Three-dimensional gravity in Anti-de Sitter space is considered, including torsion. The derivation of the central charges of the algebra that generates the asymptotic isometry group of the theory is reviewed, and a special point of the…
The first theorem states that all flat space-time gravitational theories must have a Lagrangian with a first term that is an homogeneous (degree-I) function of the 4-velocity $u^i$, plus a functional of $\eta_{ij}u^i u^j$. The second…
An example of a higher spin gravity in four-dimensional flat space has recently been constructed in arXiv:1609.04655 [hep-th]. This theory is chiral and the action is written in the light-cone gauge. The theory has certain stringy features,…
We classify two-dimensional purely chiral conformal field theories which are defined on two-dimensional surfaces equipped with spin structure and have central charge less than or equal to 16, and discuss their duality webs. This result can…
A theory of gravity with a generic action functional and minimally coupled to N matter fields has a nontrivial fixed point in the leading large N approximation. At this fixed point, the cosmological constant and Newton's constant are…
We show that 3D gravity, in its pure connection formulation, admits a natural 6D interpretation. The 3D field equations for the connection are equivalent to 6D Hitchin equations for the Chern-Simons 3-form in the total space of the…
Wolfgang Kummer was a pioneer of two-dimensional gravity and a strong advocate of the first order formulation in terms of Cartan variables. In the present work we apply Wolfgang Kummer's philosophy, the `Vienna School approach', to a…
We revisit the problem of the bulk-boundary unitarity clash in 2 + 1 dimensional gravity theories, which has been an obstacle in providing a viable dual two-dimensional conformal field theory for bulk gravity in anti-de Sitter (AdS)…
The inclusion of a flat metric tensor in gravitation permits the formulation of a gravitational stress-energy tensor and the formal derivation of general relativity from a linear theory in flat spacetime. Building on the works of Kraichnan…
A retrospective analysis of the field theory of gravitation, describing gravitational field in the same way as other fields of matter in the flat space-time, is done. The field approach could be called "quantum gravidynamics" to distinguish…
We formulate a topological theory in six dimensions with gauge group SO(3,3) which reduces to gravity on a four dimensional defect if suitable boundary conditions are chosen. In such a framework we implement the reflection automorphism of…