Gauge Theory Formulations for Continuous and Higher Spin Fields

TL;DR

This paper develops a gauge theory framework for continuous and higher spin particles using an extended spacetime, revealing new symmetries and connections to existing formulations, and clarifies the physical degrees of freedom involved.

Contribution

It introduces a novel gauge theory formulation with reducible symmetries for continuous spin particles, linking it to prior models and analyzing physical content.

Findings

The gauge theory involves one scalar gauge field with two local symmetries.

Reducibility of symmetries simplifies the action to involve two scalar gauge fields.

The formulation clarifies the physical degrees of freedom of continuous and higher spin particles.

Abstract

We consider a gauge theory action for continuous spin particles formulated in a spacetime enlarged by an extra coordinate recently proposed by Schuster and Toro. It requires one scalar gauge field and has two local symmetries. We show that the local symmetries are reducible in the sense that the parameters also have a local symmetry. Using reducibility we get an action which has two scalar gauge fields and a reducible but simpler local symmetry. We then show how this action and equations of motion are related to previously proposed formulations for continuous spin particles and higher spin theories. We also discuss the physical contents of each formulation to reveal the physical degrees of freedom.