Affine Connection and Quantum Theory

TL;DR

This paper explores the role of affine connection-induced scalar fields in gravity theories, their implications for inflation, dark energy, neutrino physics, and the potential for massless higher-spin particles, with a focus on theoretical formalism.

Contribution

It introduces a formalism incorporating affine connection scalar fields into gravity, analyzing their effects on cosmology, particle physics, and the inclusion of massless higher-spin particles.

Findings

Scalar fields affect inflation and dark energy models.

Right-handed neutrinos are necessary for anomaly-free electroweak theory in curved spacetime.

Massless higher-spin particles can be modeled using symmetric traceless tensors.

Abstract

In a few recent manuscripts, we used the affine connection to introduce two massless scalar fields in the Einstein-Palatini action. These fields lead to non-metricity. In this article, we will discuss the significance of these fields in inflation and dark energy. We will construct a Lagrangian formalism to include these scalar fields in a theory of gravity coupled with ordinary matter and radiation. We will find that these fields need not to be included in the actions of interacting gauge theories coupled with conserved fermionic vector currents as a part of the connection. The same remains valid for ordinary scalar fields. We can couple the connection-scalars with ordinary matter by adding suitable interaction terms. In this context, we will find that Stokes' theorem leads us to include the right-handed neutrinos in the electroweak theory in curved spacetime even with the Levi-Civita connection. This is required to obtain consistent equations of motion and anomaly-free conserved vector current for the neutrinos. Axial vector currents for different Dirac fields may remain anomalous. The right-handed neutrinos can be useful to explain neutrino oscillation and dark matter. We will also discuss the possibility of introducing massless finite integer spin particles using second rank symmetric traceless tensors with reference to the corresponding little group in flat spacetime. We will show that we can use massless (A,A) type fields in Minkowski space to introduce massless finite integer spin particles.