A non-relativistic limit of NS-NS gravity.

We discuss a particular non-relativistic limit of NS-NS gravity that can be taken at the level of the action and equations of motion, without imposing any geometric constraints by hand. This relies on the fact that terms that diverge in the limit and that come from the Vielbein in the Einstein-Hilbert term and from the kinetic term of the Kalb-Ramond two-form field cancel against each other. This cancelling of divergences is the target space analogue of a similar cancellation that takes place at the level of the string sigma model between the Vielbein in the kinetic term and the Kalb-Ramond field in the Wess-Zumino term.

Gravity and the Spin-2 Planar Schrödinger Equation.

A Schrödinger equation proposed for the Girvin-MacDonald-Platzman gapped spin-2 mode of fractional quantum Hall states is found from a novel nonrelativistic limit, applicable only in 2+1 dimensions, of the massive spin-2 Fierz-Pauli field equations. It is also found from a novel null reduction of the linearized Einstein field equations in 3+1 dimensions, and in this context a uniform distribution of spin-2 particles implies, via a Brinkmann-wave solution of the nonlinear Einstein equations, a confining harmonic oscillator potential for the individual particles.

Three-Dimensional Extended Bargmann Supergravity.

We show that three-dimensional general relativity, augmented with two vector fields, allows for a nonrelativistic limit, different from the standard limit leading to Newtonian gravity, that results in a well-defined action which is of the Chern-Simons type. We show that this three-dimensional "extended Bargmann gravity," after coupling to matter, leads to equations of motion allowing a wider class of background geometries than the ones that one encounters in Newtonian gravity. We give the supersymmetric generalization of these results and point out an important application in the context of calculating partition functions of nonrelativistic field theories using localization techniques.

Zwei-dreibein gravity: a two-frame-field model of 3D massive gravity.

We present a generally covariant and parity-invariant two-frame field ("zwei-dreibein") action for gravity in three space-time dimensions that propagates two massive spin-2 modes, unitarily, and we use Hamiltonian methods to confirm the absence of unphysical degrees of freedom. We show how zwei-dreibein gravity unifies previous "3D massive gravity" models and extends them, in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, to allow for a positive central charge consistent with bulk unitarity.