A journey into higher-spin gauge theories

Description
Building interacting field theories involving particles with spin greater than two has been considered impossible for a long time. String Theory contains however massive excitations of arbitrary spin and many examples of interacting higher-spin gauge theories are by now available. After a brief introduction on the free theory I will review how these examples circumvent the "classic" no-go arguments against higher-spin interactions, and I will eventually focus on three-dimensional models. In this context many technical issues drastically simplify, but one can still uncover some of the peculiarities that higher-spin gauge symmetries bring about. Along the way I will highlight the recent applications of higher-spin gauge theories in the context of String Theory and of the AdS/CFT correspondence.
Organised by Maurizio Consoli