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In e.g., http://arxiv.org/abs/arXiv:0712.3526 the author claims:

Since the massless higher-spin field theories involve infinite-dimensional gauge symmetries, one expects that such theories may be ultraviolet finite.

This statment is connected to the statement that one believes that Vasiliev theory is UV-complete.

How exactly is the connection between infinite gauge symmetries and UV finiteness and why do we believe that this is true?

ungerade
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1 Answers1

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First of all there is no proof of this statement. It is just a general expectation that the more symmetries you have the more reason to expect better quantum properties. This works with SUSY, the more SUSY you have the better the theory is at the quantum level, say $N=4$ SYM, or $N=8$ SUGRA that some people still have hope to be well-defined.

If you involve AdS/CFT consideration than 4d Vasiliev theory is conjectured by Klebanov and Polyakov to be dual to free/critical vector model, which are well defined quantum field theories (especially the free one :) ), so one should expect 4d Vasiliev not to have any problems. For example, for boundary conditions corresponding to the free model one should have all loop corrections to vanish. This has not yet been checked.

John
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