Interactions of multiple spin-2 fields: bimetric and multimetric theories

Abstract: Classical and quantum fields are classified in terms of their "spin" which not only specifies their behavior under rotations, but also determines the basic structure of their field equations. The Standard Model describes particle physics in terms of fields of spin 0, 1/2 and 1, whereas General Relativity (GR) is the theory of a single massless field of spin 2. Fields of higher spin may not be describable by local field theories at all, leaving theories of multiple spin-2 fields as the main possible extensions of the familiar field theories. Hence, a long standing question has been if GR could be extended to contain extra spin 2 fields of potential relevant to new physics. The main difficulty in constructing such theories is the appearance of "ghost" instabilities. Some such theories have been found in recent years and are highly constrained by consistency conditions. This talk describes theories of two and multiple spin-2 fields commonly known as ghost-free bimetric and multimetric theories. In particular I will focus on the structure of ghost free bimetric and multimetric interactions, their physical interpretation, and on the notions of space and time in bimetric theories.

general relativity and quantum cosmologyHEP - theorymathematical physicsquantum algebra

Audience: researchers in the topic

Comments: WEBINAR ON FRIDAY WAS CANCELLED DUE TO TECHNICAL PROBLEMS

Mathematical Physics Seminar

Series comments: Description: Noncommutative geometry, field theory, gravity.