Related papers: Massive Higher-Spin Multiplets and Asymptotic Free…
BFSS proposed that asymptotically flat M-theory is dual to a large $N$ limit of the matrix quantum mechanics describing $N$ nonrelativistic D0-branes. Recent insights on the soft symmetries of any quantum theory of gravity in asymptotically…
We derive constraints on two-dimensional conformal field theories with higher spin symmetry due to unitarity, modular invariance, and causality. We focus on CFTs with $\mathcal{W}_N$ symmetry in the "irrational" regime, where $c>N-1$ and…
We observe that the partition function of the set of all free massless higher spins s=0,1,2,3,... in flat space is equal to one: the ghost determinants cancel against the "physical" ones or, equivalently, the (regularized) total number of…
We discuss the emergence of W-algebras as asymptotic symmetries of higher-spin gauge theories coupled to three-dimensional Einstein gravity with a negative cosmological constant. We focus on models involving a finite number of bosonic…
The problem of accounting for the quantum degrees of freedom in passing from massive higher-spin potentials to massless ones and its inverse, the "fattening" of massless tensor potentials of helicity $\pm h$ to their massive $s = |h|$…
We investigate the properties of fakeons in quantum gravity at one loop. The theory is described by a graviton multiplet, which contains the fluctuation $h_{\mu \nu }$ of the metric, a massive scalar $\phi $ and the spin-2 fakeon $\chi…
Building on the mapping of large-$S$ spin chains onto the O($3$) nonlinear $\sigma$ model with coupling constant $2/S$, and on general properties of that model (asymptotic freedom, implying that perturbation theory is valid at high energy,…
We present two different versions of the consistent theory of massive gravitons in arbitrary spacetimes which are simple enough for practical applications. The theory is described by a non-symmetric rank-2 tensor whose equations of motion…
I outline a series of results obtained in collaboration with A. Waldron on the properties of massive higher (s>1) spin fields in cosmological, constant curvature, backgrounds and the resulting unexpected qualitative effects on their degrees…
We consider three dimensional gravity with a positive cosmological constant and non- zero gravitational Chern-Simons term. This theory has inflating de Sitter solutions and local metric degrees of freedom. The Euclidean signature partition…
In this thesis we investigate various fundamental aspects of asymptotically safe quantum gravity, in particular the compatibility of Asymptotic Safety with the requirements for background independence and unitarity. The first part contains…
We suggest and briefly review a new sort of superrenormalizable models of higher derivative quantum gravity. The higher derivative terms in the action can be introduced in such a way that all the unphysical massive states have complex…
We compute the one-loop quantum corrections to the potential of ghost-free massive gravity. We show how the mass of external matter fields contribute to the running of the cosmological constant, but do not change the ghost-free structure of…
In the model of a fermion field coupled to loop quantum gravity, we consider the Gauss and the Hamiltonian constraints. According to the explicit solutions to the Gauss constraint, the fermion spins and the gravitational spin networks…
In this work we analyze the asymptotic symmetries of the three-dimensional Chern-Simons (CS) gravity theory for a higher spin extension of the so-called Maxwell algebra. We propose a generalized set of asymptotic boundary conditions for the…
Ghost-free bimetric gravity is a theory of two interacting spin-2 fields, one massless and one massive, in addition to the standard matter particles and fields, thereby generalizing Einstein's theory of general relativity. To parameterize…
We give a simple proof of perturbative unitarity in gauge theories and quantum gravity using a special gauge that allows us to separate the physical poles of the free propagators, which are quantized by means of the Feynman prescription,…
In the framework of the covariant canonical formalism of quadratic gravity, we consider the problem of confinement of massive ghost which violates the unitarity of the physical S-matrix. It is shown that if there is a bound state between…
We study the renormalization of theories of gravity with an arbitrary (torsionful and non-metric) connection. The class of actions we consider is of the Palatini type, including the most general terms with up to two derivatives of the…
Nonlinear field equations for the supersymmetric higher-spin gauge theory describing totally symmetric bosonic and fermionic massless fields along with hook-type bosonic fields of all spins in any space-time dimension are presented. One of…