AdS twistors for higher spin theory

TL;DR

This paper develops a twistor-based framework for constructing spectra of supersymmetric higher spin theories in various dimensions, providing a systematic method to generate and analyze these theories on AdS spaces.

Contribution

It introduces a geometric twistor transform for higher spin theories on AdS spaces and generalizes previous models, including supersymmetric and Vasiliev's models, with a systematic approach.

Findings

Reproduces known results in D=4, 5, and 7 dimensions.

Provides a method to generate distinct higher spin theories systematically.

Identifies dimensional enhancement and doubleton structures in the models.

Abstract

We construct spectra of supersymmetric higher spin theories in D=4, 5 and 7 from twistors describing massless (super-)particles on AdS spaces. A massless twistor transform is derived in a geometric way from classical kinematics. Relaxing the spin-shell constraints on twistor space gives an infinite tower of massless states of a ``higher spin particle'', generalising previous work of Bandos et al. This can generically be done in a number of ways, each defining the states of a distinct higher spin theory, and the method provides a systematic way of finding these. We reproduce known results in D=4, minimal supersymmetric 5- and 7-dimensional models, as well as supersymmetrisations of Vasiliev's Sp-models as special cases. In the latter models a dimensional enhancement takes place, meaning that the theory lives on a space of higher dimension than the original AdS space, and becomes a theory of doubletons. This talk was presented at the XIXth Max Born Symposium ``Fundamental Interactions and Twistor-Like Methods'', September 2004, in Wroclaw, Poland.