Speaker
Description
Quantum field theory of higher-spin particles is a formidable subject,
where preserving the physical number of degrees of freedom in the
Lorentz-invariant way requires a host of auxiliary fields. They can be
chosen to have a rich gauge-symmetry structure, but introducing
consistent interactions in such approaches is still a non-trivial task,
with massive higher-spin Lagrangians specified only up to three points.
In this talk, I will discuss a new, chiral description for massive
higher-spin particles, which in four spacetime dimensions allows to do
away with the unphysical degrees of freedom. This greatly facilitates
the introduction of consistent interactions. I will focus on three
theories, in which higher-spin matter is coupled to electrodynamics,
non-Abelian gauge theory or gravity. These simple theories are the first
ever models for consistently interacting massive higher-spin fields.
