Higher-Spin States of the Superstring in an Electromagnetic Background

TL;DR

This paper develops a supersymmetric Lagrangian for charged massive higher-spin fields in an electromagnetic background using the hybrid superstring formalism, advancing the understanding of higher-spin dynamics in string theory.

Contribution

It introduces a new supersymmetric Lagrangian for spin-2 and spin-3/2 fields using the hybrid formalism, simplifying the treatment of higher-spin fields in electromagnetic backgrounds.

Findings

Constructed a supersymmetric Lagrangian for spin-2 and spin-3/2 fields.

Utilized the hybrid formalism to avoid picture-changing complexities.

Demonstrated manifest supersymmetry in the Lagrangian.

Abstract

Constructing a consistent four-dimensional Lagrangian for charged massive higher-spin fields propagating in an electromagnetic background is an open problem. In 1989, Argyres and Nappi used bosonic open string field theory to construct a Lagrangian for charged massive spin-2 fields in a constant electromagnetic background. In this paper, we use the four-dimensional hybrid formalism for open superstring field theory to construct a supersymmetric Lagrangian for charged massive spin-2 and spin-3/2 fields in a constant electromagnetic background. The hybrid formalism has the advantage over the RNS formalism of manifest $\mathcal{N}=1$ d=4 spacetime supersymmetry so that the spin-2 and spin-3/2 fields are combined into a single superfield and there is no need for picture-changing or spin fields.