Higher spin interactions: cubic deformations on Minkowski and (Anti)de Sitter backgrounds

Abstract: In the thesis, results presented in various papers involving the author are reviewed. First, general results about consistent deformations at first order (i.e. cubic) using the antifield formalism in Minkowski spacetime are gathered. Secondly, a correspondance between the consistent nonabelian cubic vertices in (Anti)de Sitter and those in Minkowski spacetime is establish. The Minkowski nonabelian cubic solutions for the triplets of spin 2-2-3, 3-3-3 (in particular the parity-breaking ones), 1-s-s and 2-s-s are then studied, the last of which providing the uniqueness of the 2-s-s Fradkin-Vasiliev deformation procedure in (A)dS spacetime. Finally, we carry out second order computations in Minkowski spacetime that show the inconsistency of several cubic solutions, including the spin-3 Berends-Burgers-van Dam vertex.