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arXiv · 2510.20895

Higher spin Lagrangians from higher derivative diffeomorphisms

Will Barker·Dario Francia·Carlo Marzo·Alessandro Santoni
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Abstract

The covariant description of massless particles of arbitrary spin typically employs symmetric tensors of rank $s$ and rests on a local symmetry carried by symmetric tensor parameters of rank $s-1$, suitably generalizing the $U(1)$ transformations of Maxwell's theory and the diffeomorphisms underlying general relativity. Here we show that Fronsdal's action is actually uniquely identified by the weaker requirement of invariance under higher-derivative gauge transformations driven by a vector parameter. This observation may hint to a tighter, if unexpected, connection between higher-spin symmetry and diffeomorphisms.

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Will Barker, Dario Francia, Carlo Marzo, Alessandro Santoni. 2025-10-23. Higher spin Lagrangians from higher derivative diffeomorphisms. https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.20895

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