Related papers: A note on higher-derivative actions for free highe…
We extend Schwinger's proper-time formalism to provide a method for computing the one-loop effective action for both spinor and scalar quantum electrodynamics in $d=2n>4$ dimensions. The closed form expression for the six-dimensional…
We determine higher-derivative terms in the open superstring effective action with U(N) gauge group up to and including order alpha'^4 as can be extracted from 4 boson, 2 boson - 2 fermion and 4 fermion string scattering amplitudes. This…
In this work we construct an infinite class of four-point functions for massless higher-spin fields in flat space that are consistent with the gauge symmetry. In the Lagrangian picture, these reflect themselves in a peculiar non-local…
We develop the bivector formalism in higher dimensional Lorentzian spacetimes. We define the Weyl bivector operator in a manner consistent with its boost-weight decomposition. We then algebraically classify the Weyl tensor, which gives rise…
We describe a method to generate scalar-tensor theories with Weyl symmetry, starting from arbitrary purely metric higher derivative gravity theories. The method consists in the definition of a conformally-invariant metric $\hat{g}_{\mu…
Higher spin theories can be efficiently described in terms of auxiliary St\"uckelberg or projective space field multiplets. By considering how higher spin models couple to scale, these approaches can be unified in a conformal…
The idea we advocate in this paper is that the one-loop effective action of a free (massive) field theory coupled to external sources (via conserved currents) contains complete information about the classical dynamics of such sources. We…
We propose a simple injective resolution for the Hochschild complex of the Weyl algebra. By making use of this resolution, we derive explicit expressions for nontrivial cocycles of the Weyl algebra with coefficients in twisted bimodules as…
Off-shell actions for massless higher-spin $\mathcal{N}=1$ supermultiplets in five dimensions (5D) are constructed in harmonic superspace in terms of unconstrained prepotentials. Cubic couplings of these supermultiplets to the…
New Massive Gravity provides a non-linear extension of the Fierz-Pauli mass for gravitons in 2+1 dimensions. Here we construct a Weyl invariant version of this theory. When the Weyl symmetry is broken, the graviton gets a mass in analogy…
Twistor space constructions and actions are given for full Yang-Mills and conformal gravity using almost complex structures that are not, in general, integrable. These are used as the basis of a derivation of the twistor-string generating…
We determine the leading order fall-off behaviour of the Weyl tensor in higher dimensional Einstein spacetimes (with and without a cosmological constant) as one approaches infinity along a congruence of null geodesics. The null congruence…
There is a great number of higher-spin gravities in $3d$ that can have both finite and infinite spectra of fields and can be formulated as Chern-Simons theories. It was believed that this is impossible in higher dimensions, where…
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…
We consider four (real or complex) dimensional hyper-K\"ahler metrics with a conformal symmetry K. The three-dimensional space of orbits of K is shown to have an Einstein-Weyl structure which admits a shear-free geodesics congruence for…
The algebra of differential geometry operations on symmetric tensors over constant curvature manifolds forms a novel deformation of the sl(2,R) [semidirect product] R^2 Lie algebra. We present a simple calculus for calculations in its…
A longstanding open problem in mathematical physics has been that of finding an action principle for the Einstein-Weyl (EW) equations. In this paper, we present for the first time such an action principle in three dimensions in which the…
In this work we continue the study of the one-loop partition function for higher derivative conformal higher spin (CHS) fields in six dimensions and its holographic counterpart given by massless higher spin Fronsdal fields in seven…
In Lagrangian gauge systems, the vector space of global reducibility parameters forms a module under the Lie algebra of symmetries of the action. Since the classification of global reducibility parameters is generically easier than the…
We consider Euclidean path integrals with higher derivative actions, including those that depend quadratically on acceleration, velocity and position. Such path integrals arise naturally in the study of stiff polymers, membranes with…