Sources for Generalized Gauge Fields

Abstract

Generalized gauge fields are tensor fields with mixed symmetries. For gravity and higher spins in dimensions greater than four, the fundamental field in the "magnetic representation" is a generalized gauge field. It is shown that the analog of a point source for a generalized gauge field is a special type of brane whose worldsheet has another brane interwoven into it: a current within a current. In the case of gravity in higher dimensions, this combined extended object is the generalization of a magnetic pole. The Dirac quantization condition for the "electric" and "magnetic" strengths holds.