We review recent progress in massive gravity. We start by showing how different theories of massive gravity emerge from a higher-dimensional theory of general relativity, leading to the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati model, cascading gravity and ghost-free massive gravity. We then explore their theoretical and phenomenological consistency, proving the absence of Boulware-Deser ghosts and reviewing the Vainshtein mechanism and the cosmological solutions in these models. Finally we present alternative and related models of massive gravity such as new massive gravity, Lorentz-violating massive gravity and non-local massive gravity.

Massive Gravity

We consider several aspects of unitary higher-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs). We first study massive deformations that trigger a flow to a gapped phase. Deep inelastic scattering in the gapped phase leads to a convexity property of dimensions of spinning operators of the original CFT. We further investigate the dimensions of spinning operators via the crossing equations in the light-cone limit. We find that, in a sense, CFTs become free at large spin and 1/s is a weak coupling parameter. The spectrum of CFTs enjoys additivity: if two twists τ
 1, τ
 2 appear in the spectrum, there are operators whose twists are arbitrarily close to τ
 1 + τ
 2. We characterize how τ
 1 + τ
 2 is approached at large spin by solving the crossing equations analytically. We find the precise form of the leading correction, including the prefactor. We compare with examples where these observables were computed in perturbation theory, or via gauge-gravity duality, and find complete agreement. The crossing equations show that certain operators have a convex spectrum in twist space. We also observe a connection between convexity and the ratio of dimension to charge. Applications include the 3d Ising model, theories with a gravity dual, SCFTs, and patterns of higher spin symmetry breaking.

Convexity and Liberation at Large Spin

We consider higher derivative corrections to the graviton three-point coupling within a weakly coupled theory of gravity. Lorentz invariance allows further structures beyond the one present in the Einstein theory. We argue that these are constrained by causality. We devise a thought experiment involving a high energy scattering process which leads to causality violation if the graviton three-point vertex contains the additional structures. This violation cannot be fixed by adding conventional particles with spins $J \leq 2$. But, it can be fixed by adding an infinite tower of extra massive particles with higher spins, $J > 2$. In AdS theories this implies a constraint on the conformal anomaly coefficients $\left|{a - c \over c} \right| \lesssim {1 \over \Delta_{gap}^2}$ in terms of $\Delta_{gap}$, the dimension of the lightest single particle operator with spin $J > 2$. For inflation, or de Sitter-like solutions, it indicates the existence of massive higher spin particles if the gravity wave non-gaussianity deviates significantly from the one computed in the Einstein theory.

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Causality Constraints on Corrections to the Graviton Three-Point Coupling

Aiming at nonexperts, the key mechanisms of higher-spin extensions of ordinary gravities in four dimensions and higher are explained. An overview of various no-go theorems for low-energy scattering of massless particles in flat spacetime is given. In doing so, a connection between the $S$-matrix and the Lagrangian approaches is made, exhibiting their relative advantages and weaknesses, after which potential loopholes for nontrivial massless dynamics are highlighted. Positive yes-go results for non-Abelian cubic higher-derivative vertices in constantly curved backgrounds are reviewed. Finally, how higher-spin symmetry can be reconciled with the equivalence principle in the presence of a cosmological constant leading to the Fradkin-Vasiliev vertices and Vasiliev's higher-spin gravity with its double perturbative expansion (in terms of numbers of fields and derivatives) is outlined.

How higher-spin gravity surpasses the spin-two barrier

We consider three-dimensional conformal field theories that have a higher spin symmetry that is slightly broken. The theories have a large-N limit in the sense that the operators separate into single trace and multitrace and obey the usual large-N factorization properties. We assume that the spectrum of single trace operators is similar to the one that one obtains in the Vasiliev theories. Namely the only single trace operators are the higher spin currents plus an additional scalar. The anomalous dimensions of the higher spin currents are of the order 1/N. Using the slightly broken higher spin symmetry, we constrain the three-point functions of the theories to a leading order in N. We show that there are two families of solutions. One family can be realized as a theory of N fermions with an O(N) Chern?Simons gauge field, the other as an N bosons plus the Chern?Simons gauge field. The family of solutions is parametrized by the 't Hooft coupling. At special parity preserving points, we obtain the critical O(N) models: the Wilson?Fisher one and the Gross?Neveu one. Our analysis also fixes the on-shell three-point functions of Vasiliev's theory on AdS4 or dS4.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0264-9381/30/10/104003/pdf

Constraining conformal field theories with a slightly broken higher spin symmetry

Cubic interactions between the simplest mixed-symmetry gauge field and gravity are constructed in anti-de Sitter (AdS) and flat backgrounds. Non-Abelian cubic interactions are obtained in AdS following various perturbative methods including the Fradkin–Vasiliev construction, with and without Stuckelberg fields. The action that features the maximal number of Stuckelberg fields can be considered in the flat limit without loss of physical degrees of freedom. The resulting interactions in flat space are compared with a classification of vertices obtained via the antifield cohomological perturbative method. It is shown that the gauge algebra becomes Abelian in the flat limit, in contrast to what happens for totally symmetric gauge fields in AdS.

Gravitational cubic interactions for a simple mixed-symmetry gauge field in AdS and flat backgrounds

The Gross-Neveu model defines a unitary CFT of interacting fermions in 2 < d < 4 which has perturbative descriptions in the 1/N expansion and in the epsilon-expansion near two and four dimensions. In each of these descriptions, the CFT has an infinite tower of nearly conserved currents of all spins. We determine the structure of the non-conservation equations both at large N and in the epsilon-expansion, and use it to find the leading order anomalous dimensions of the broken currents. Similarly, we use the fact that the CFT spectrum includes a nearly free fermion to fix the leading anomalous dimensions of a few scalar composite operators. We also compute the scaling dimensions of double-trace spinning operators in the large N expansion, which correspond to interaction energies of two-particle states in the AdS dual higher-spin theory. We first derive these anomalous dimensions by a direct Feynman diagram calculation, and then show that the result can be exactly reproduced by analytic bootstrap methods, provided the sum over the tower of weakly broken higher-spin currents is suitably regularized. Finally, we apply the analytic bootstrap approach to derive the anomalous dimensions of the double-trace spinning operators in the 3d bosonic and fermion vector models coupled to Chern-Simons theory, to leading order in 1/N but exactly in the ‘t Hooft coupling.

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Notes on spinning operators in fermionic CFT

The generalized connections of the de Sitter algebra so (d, 1) and anti-de Sitter algebra so (d―1, 2), which are differential forms of arbitrary degree with values in any irreducible (spin)-tensor representation of the (anti)-de Sitter algebra, are studied. It is shown that an arbitrary-spin gauge field in (anti)-de Sitter space, massless or partially-massless, can be described by a single connection. A 'one-to-one' correspondence between the connections of the (anti)-de Sitter algebra and the gauge fields is established. The gauge symmetry is manifest and auxiliary fields are automatically included in the formalism.

Gauge fields in (A)dSd and connections of its symmetry algebra

We propose a new approach to solve conformal field theories and apply it to Chern-Simons Matter theories and three-dimensional bosonization duality. All three-point correlation functions of single-trace operators are obtained in the large-N as a simple application. The idea is to construct, as an effective weakly-coupled theory, a nonlinear realization of the conformal algebra in terms of physical, gauge-invariant, operators. The efficiency of the method is also in the use of an analog of the light-cone gauge and of the momentum-space on the CFT side. AdS/CFT is used as a convenient regulator and as a source of the canonical bracket. The uniqueness of the nonlinear realization manifests the three-dimensional bosonization duality at this order. We also find two more non-unitary solutions which should be analogous to the fishnet theories. The results can also be viewed as an explicit realization of the slightly-broken higher spin symmetry. As a by-product, the cubic action of the Higher Spin Gravity in AdS4 is constructed. While generic Higher Spin Gravities are obstructed at higher orders by nonlocality, we point out the existence of two especially simple and well-defined theories: chiral and anti-chiral whose three-point functions correspond to the two new solutions. These two theories are supposed to give a quantum complete and local example of gravitational bulk duals.

/pdf/light-front-bootstrap-for-chern-simons-matter-theories-517np9q1e5.pdf

Light-front bootstrap for Chern-Simons matter theories

We use the Fradkin-Vasiliev procedure to construct the full set of non-abelian cubic vertices for totally symmetric higher spin gauge fields in anti-de Sitter space. The number of such vertices is given by a certain tensor-product multiplicity. We discuss the one-to-one relation between our result and the list of non-abelian gauge deformations in flat space obtained elsewhere via the cohomological approach. We comment about the uniqueness of Vasiliev's simplest higher-spin algebra in relation with the (non)associativity properties of the gauge algebras that we classified. The gravitational interactions for (partially)-massless (mixed)-symmetry fields are also discussed. We also argue that those mixed-symmetry and/or partially-massless fields that are described by one-form connections within the frame-like approach can have nonabelian interactions among themselves and again the number of nonabelian vertices should be given by tensor product multiplicities.

Evgeny Skvortsov

Papers

Gravitational cubic interactions for a simple mixed-symmetry gauge field in AdS and flat backgrounds

Notes on spinning operators in fermionic CFT

Gauge fields in (A)dSd and connections of its symmetry algebra

Light-front bootstrap for Chern-Simons matter theories

Non-abelian cubic vertices for higher-spin fields in anti-de Sitter space