3D gravity, Chern–Simons and higher spins: A mini introduction

Abstract

We give a review on (a) elements of (2+1)-dimensional gravity, (b) some aspects of its relation to Chern–Simons theory, (c) its generalization to couple higher spins, and (d) cosmic singularity resolution as an application in the context of flat space higher spin theory. A knowledge of the Einstein–Hilbert action, classical non-Abelian gauge theory and some (negotiable amount of) maturity are the only pre-requisites.