Global surpluses of spin-base invariant fermions

The spin-base invariant formalism of Dirac fermions in curved space maintains the essential symmetries of general covariance as well as similarity transformations of the Clifford algebra. We emphasize the advantages of the spin-base invariant formalism both from a conceptual as well as from a practi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Holger Gies, Stefan Lippoldt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2015-04-01
Series:Physics Letters B
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037026931500177X
Description
Summary:The spin-base invariant formalism of Dirac fermions in curved space maintains the essential symmetries of general covariance as well as similarity transformations of the Clifford algebra. We emphasize the advantages of the spin-base invariant formalism both from a conceptual as well as from a practical viewpoint. This suggests that local spin-base invariance should be added to the list of (effective) properties of (quantum) gravity theories. We find support for this viewpoint by the explicit construction of a global realization of the Clifford algebra on a 2-sphere which is impossible in the spin-base non-invariant vielbein formalism.
ISSN:0370-2693