Geometric massive higher spins and current exchanges

TL;DR

This paper explores the geometric formulation of massive higher-spin fields on flat backgrounds, focusing on their interactions with external sources and how mass terms influence current exchanges without auxiliary fields.

Contribution

It introduces a geometric approach to massive higher-spin fields using simple quadratic deformations of massless Lagrangians, avoiding auxiliary fields and analyzing their interaction structure.

Findings

Derived propagators for massive higher-spin fields

Showed current exchange structure depends solely on mass terms

Extended geometric framework to higher spins without auxiliary fields

Abstract

Generalised Fierz-Pauli mass terms allow to describe massive higher-spin fields on flat background by means of simple quadratic deformations of the corresponding geometric, massless Lagrangians. In this framework there is no need for auxiliary fields. We briefly review the construction in the bosonic case and study the interaction of these massive fields with external sources, computing the corresponding propagators. In the same fashion as for the massive graviton, but differently from theories where auxiliary fields are present, the structure of the current exchange is completely determined by the form of the mass term itself.