Related papers: Higher-Spin Theory - Part II: enter dimension thre…
We describe several families of primary linear supermultiplets coupled to three-dimensional ${\cal N}=2$ conformal supergravity and use them to construct topological $BF$-type terms. We introduce conformal higher-spin gauge superfields and…
We show how to incorporate massive spinning fields into the Euclidean path integral of three-dimensional quantum gravity via its Chern-Simons formulation. The coupling of the spinning fields to gravity is captured by a Wilson spool, a…
A new approach to the quantization of Chern-Simons theory has been developed in recent papers of the author. It uses a "simulation" of the moduli space of flat connections modulo the gauge group which reveals to be related to a lattice…
A generalization of Chern-Simons gauge theory is formulated in any dimension and arbitrary gauge group where gauge fields and gauge parameters are differential forms of any degree. The quaternion algebra structure of this formulation is…
A field theory on a three-dimensional manifold is introduced, whose field equations are the constraint equations for general relativity on a three-dimensional null hypersurface. The underlying boundary action consists of two copies of the…
We investigate the Chern-Simons-like formulation of 3D MMG-like massive gravity models that are "third-way consistent". Building on previous work on exotic massive gravities, we analyze a class of MMG-like theories characterized by a…
We study Vasiliev's higher-spin gravity in 3+1d. We formulate the theory in the so-called compensator formalism, where the local isometry group SO(4,1) is reduced to the Lorentz group SO(3,1) by a choice of spacelike direction in an…
In this article we consider $SU(2)$ Chern-Simons/Higgs theory coupled to gravity in three-dimensions. It is shown that for a cylindrically symmetric vortex both the Einstein equations and the field equations can be reduced to a set of…
Chern-Simons models for gravity are interesting because they provide with a truly gauge-invariant action principle in the fiber-bundle sense. So far, their main drawback has largely been the perceived remoteness from standard General…
In the context of three-dimensional conformal higher spin theory we derive, in the frame field formulation, the full non-linear spin 3 Cotton equation coupled to spin 2. This is done by solving the corresponding Chern-Simons gauge theory…
The most general theory of gravity in d-dimensions which leads to second order field equations for the metric has [(d-1)/2] free parameters. It is shown that requiring the theory to have the maximum possible number of degrees of freedom,…
We study the role of "$\theta$ terms" in the action for three-dimensional $U(1)$ symmetric tensor gauge theories, describing quantum phases of matter hosting gapless higher-spin gauge modes and gapped subdimensional particle excitations,…
We obtain a non-relativistic chiral massive higher-spin gravity in a deformed $AdS_3$ spacetime by applying a Lifshitz deformation and subsequent null reduction to chiral massless higher-spin gravity in $AdS_4$. Intriguingly, the vertices…
We continue to study a certain dynamical theory of 3-forms in seven dimensions, which can be viewed as a non-linear 7D analog of the 3D Abelian Chern-Simons theory. We perform the 6+1 split and show that the theory propagates 3 degrees of…
Three-dimensional gauge theories coupled to fermions can develop interesting nonperturbative dynamics. Here we study in detail the dynamics of $SU(N)$ gauge theories coupled to a Dirac fermion in the rank-two symmetric and antisymmetric…
Aiming at non-experts, we explain the key mechanisms of higher-spin extensions of ordinary gravity. We first overview various no-go theorems for low-energy scattering of massless particles in flat spacetime. In doing so we dress a…
This Thesis reviews some recent developments about higher-spin interactions in flat and constant curvature backgrounds. Particular attention is given to the ambient-space formulation of the problem, both at the cubic and at the quartic…
We construct a candidate for the most general chiral higher spin theory with AdS$_3$ boundary conditions. In the Chern-Simons language, on the left it has the Drinfeld-Sokolov reduced form, but on the right all charges and chemical…
A procedure for constructing topological actions from centrally extended Lie groups is introduced. For a \km\ group, this produces \3al \cs, while for the \vir\ group the result is a new \3al \tft\ whose physical states satisfy the \vir\…
Higher dimensional Chern-Simons theories, even though constructed along the same topological pattern as in 2+1 dimensions, have been shown recently to have generically a non-vanishing number of degrees of freedom. In this paper, we carry…