Higher-Spin Fields in Braneworlds

Abstract

The dynamics of higher-spin fields in braneworlds is discussed. In particular, we study fermionic and bosonic higher-spin fields in AdS_5 and their localization on branes. We find that four-dimensional zero modes exist only for spin-one fields, if there are no couplings to the boundaries. If boundary couplings are allowed, as in the case of the bulk graviton, all bosons acquire a zero mode irrespective of their spin. We show that there are boundary conditions for fermions, which generate chiral zero modes in the four-dimensional spectrum. We also propose a gauge invariant on-shell action with cubic interactions by adding non-minimal couplings, which depend on the Weyl tensor. In addition, consistent couplings between higher-spin fields and matter on the brane are presented. Finally, in the AdS/CFT correspondence, where bulk 5D theories on AdS are related to 4D CFTs, we explicitly discuss the holographic picture of higher-spin theories in AdS_5 with and without boundaries.

Comments: 26 pages, 2 figures, Revtex style. v2 references added and a sign in the bosonic action corrected; v3 section 3 expanded, \Delta S_2 in section 5 generalized and therefore eq. 5.18 corrected, clarifications and references added. Version accepted for publication in Nuclear Physics B