[SEMINARI] SEMINAR: M. A. Vasiliev, On Conformal and Sp(8) Symmetry of 4d Higher-Spin Gauge Fields

[German Rodrigo Garcia]

On Conformal and Sp(8) Symmetry of 4d Higher-Spin Gauge Fields

M. A. Vasiliev
Lebedev Institue
Monday, 23 of October of 2006     12:00 PM
Theoretical Physics Seminars room
Abstract

It will be shown that usual free field equations for massless gauge fields 
have more global symmetries when formulated in a AdS-like curved symmetric 
space than in Minkowski space. In particular, it will be shown that, 
although the conformal symmetry su(2,2) admits no consistent local 
realization in terms of spin s>1 gauge potentials in 4d Minkowski space, 
it can be defined in the AdS_4 background. Analogous phenomenon will be 
shown to take place for the sp(8|R) symmetry of the infinite tower of 
massless higher spin fields of all spins. Relevant properties of the 
first-order "unfolded dynamics" approach undelrying the construction will 
be discussed in some detail.