PM = EM: Partially Massless Duality Invariance

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that certain higher spin, partially massless theories in four-dimensional de Sitter space exhibit a Maxwell-like electric-magnetic duality symmetry, expanding the understanding of dualities in curved spacetime.

Contribution

It introduces a novel duality symmetry for partially massless higher spin theories in de Sitter space, connecting them to conformally invariant photon-like models.

Findings

Partially massless theories in d=4 de Sitter space possess a Maxwellian duality.

These theories can consistently couple to charged matter.

The duality symmetry extends the concept of electromagnetic duality to higher spin, curved spacetime contexts.

Abstract

In d=4 de Sitter space, novel conformally invariant photon-like theories consistently couple to charged matter. We show that these higher spin, maximal depth, partially massless systems enjoy a Maxwellian, "electric-magnetic" duality.