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arXiv · 1111.3366

Helicity-1/2 Mode as a Probe of Interactions of Massive Rarita-Schwinger Field

Rakibur Rahman
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Abstract

We consider the electromagnetic and gravitational interactions of a massive Rarita-Schwinger field. Stueckelberg analysis of the system, when coupled to electromagnetism in flat space or to gravity, reveals in either case that the effective field theory has a model-independent upper bound on its UV cutoff, which is finite but parametrically larger than the particle's mass. It is the helicity-1/2 mode that becomes strongly coupled at the cutoff scale. If the interactions are inconsistent, the same mode becomes a telltale sign of pathologies. Alternatively, consistent interactions are those that propagate this mode within the light cone. Studying its dynamics not only sheds light on the Velo-Zwanziger acausality, but also elucidates why supergravity and other known consistent models are pathology-free.

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Rakibur Rahman. 2013-03-17. Helicity-1/2 Mode as a Probe of Interactions of Massive Rarita-Schwinger Field. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.87.065030

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