Integral-spin fields on (3+2)-de Sitter space

Abstract

Nowadays, (3+2)-de Sitter (or anti-de Sitter space) appears as a very attractive possibility at several levels of theoretical physics. The Wigner definition of an elementary system as associated to a unitary irreducible representation of the Poincaré group may be extended to the de Sitter group SO(3,2) [or ∼(SO(3,2))] without great difficulty. The constant curvature, as small as it can be, is a natural candidate to play the role of a regularization parameter with respect to the flat-space limit. Massless particles in (3+2)-de Sitter theory are composite (singletons). On the other hand, supergravity theories necessitate a (large) constant curvature. The content of this paper is group theoretical. It attempts to continue the ‘‘à la Wigner’’ program for SO(3,2), already largely broached by Fronsdal. Three recurrence formulas are presented. They permit one to build up the carrier states for representations with arbitrary integral spin. Two of them are valid for the ‘‘massive’’ representations whereas the third one is applicable to the indecomposable massless representations. In addition, other presumably indecomposable, though nonphysical, representations are studied, in relation to the existence of ‘‘generalized’’ gauge fields and divergences. The recurrence formulas also allow one to build up the invariant two-point functions or homogeneous propagators. Hence it becomes possible to examine the problems of light-cone propagation and ‘‘reverberation’’ into the light cone and to make the following assertion: for a certain choice of the gauge-fixing parameters, the massless states with arbitrary spin propagate only on the light cone and whatever gauge one chooses their physical parts propagate on the light cone.