Continuous-spin particle field theory with helicity correspondence
Abstract
We propose the first covariant local action describing the propagation of a single free continuous-spin degree of freedom. The theory is simply formulated as a gauge theory in a "vector superspace," but can also be formulated in terms of a tower of symmetric tensor gauge fields. When the spin invariant ρ vanishes, the helicity correspondence is manifest—familiar gauge theory actions are recovered and couplings to conserved currents can easily be introduced. For nonzero ρ , a tower of tensor currents must be present, of which only the lowest rank is exactly conserved. A paucity of local gauge-invariant operators for nonzero ρ suggests that the equations of motion in any interacting theory should be covariant, not invariant, under a generalization of the free theory's gauge symmetry.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review D
- Pub Date:
- January 2015
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevD.91.025023
- Bibcode:
- 2015PhRvD..91b5023S
- Keywords:
-
- 11.15.-q;
- 03.70.+k;
- 04.20.Cv;
- 11.30.Cp;
- Gauge field theories;
- Theory of quantized fields;
- Fundamental problems and general formalism;
- Lorentz and Poincare invariance