Weyl and Ricci gauging from the coset construction

TL;DR

This paper presents a systematic method using coset construction to make theories Weyl invariant by gauging scale symmetry, extending Ricci gauging and addressing higher-derivative theories.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic coset-based approach to Weyl invariance and extends Ricci gauging to higher-derivative conformal theories.

Findings

Weyl vector can be eliminated via an inverse Higgs-like constraint.

The extension of Ricci gauging to higher derivatives is discussed.

The method clarifies the subtlety in higher-derivative conformal theories.

Abstract

In this paper we demonstrate how, using the coset construction, a theory can be systematically made Weyl invariant by gauging the scale symmetry. We show that an analog of the inverse Higgs constraint allows the elimination of the Weyl vector (gauge) field in favor of curvatures. We extend the procedure -- previously coined Ricci gauging -- and discuss its subtlety for the case of theories with higher derivatives of conformally variant fields.