Geometry of Multi-Flavor Galileon-Like Theories

Abstract

We use Lie-algebraic arguments to classify Lorentz-invariant theories of massless interacting scalars that feature coordinate-dependent redundant symmetries of the Galileon type. We show that such theories are determined, up to a set of low-energy effective couplings, by specifying an affine representation of the Lie algebra of physical, non-redundant internal symmetries and an invariant metric on its target space. This creates an infinite catalog of theories relevant for both cosmology and high-energy physics thanks to their special properties such as enhanced scaling of scattering amplitudes in the soft limit.

8 pages; v2: substantially rewritten and extended, matches version to appear in PRL