Abstract
We show that the equations of motion for (free) integer higher spin gauge fields can be formulated as twisted self-duality conditions on the higher spin curvatures of the spin-$s$ field and its dual. We focus on the case of four spacetime dimensions, but formulate our results in a manner applicable to higher spacetime dimensions. The twisted self-duality conditions are redundant and we exhibit a non-redundant subset of conditions, which have the remarkable property to involve only first-order derivatives with respect to time. This non-redundant subset equates the electric field of the spin-$s$ field (which we define) to the magnetic field of its dual (which we also define), and vice versa. The non-redundant subset of twisted self-duality conditions involve the purely spatial components of the spin-$s$ field and its dual, and also the components of the fields with one zero index. One can get rid of these gauge components by taking the curl of the equations, which does not change their physical content. In this form, the twisted self-duality conditions can be derived from a variational principle that involves prepotentials, which are the higher spin generalizations of the prepotentials previously found in the spins 2 and 3 cases. The prepotentials have again the intriguing feature of possessing both higher spin diffeomorphism invariance and higher spin conformal geometry. The tools introduced in an earlier paper for handling higher spin conformal geometry turn out to be crucial for streamlining the analysis. In four spacetime dimensions where the electric and magnetic fields are tensor fields of the same type, the twisted self-duality conditions enjoy an $SO(2)$ electric-magnetic invariance. We explicitly show that this symmetry is an "off-shell symmetry" (i.e., a symmetry of the action and not just of the equations of motion). Remarks on the extension to higher dimensions are given.
Highlights
Gravitational theories exhibit fascinating “hidden symmetries” upon dimensional reduction [1,2]
We focus on the case of four spacetime dimensions, but formulate our results in a manner applicable to higher spacetime dimensions
It has been conjectured that these hidden symmetries might already be present prior to dimensional reduction, not manifestly so, and recent analysis in the light cone formalism supports this conjecture [3]
Summary
Gravitational theories exhibit fascinating “hidden symmetries” upon dimensional reduction [1,2]. In order to exhibit the hidden symmetries of gravitational theories, it appears necessary to reformulate the equations of motion for the p-forms present in the model in a manner that involves both the p-forms and their duals on an equal footing, but without doubling the number of degrees of freedom. This is achieved by rewriting the equations of motion as “twisted self-duality conditions” [2,11,12]. This paper was announced in [21], with the different title “Emergent conformal geometry for higher spins.”
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