A Compendium of Sphere Path Integrals

Abstract

We study the manifestly covariant and local 1-loop path integrals on $S^{d+1}$ for general massive, shift-symmetric and (partially) massless totally symmetric tensor fields of arbitrary spin $s\geq 0$ in any dimensions $d\geq 2$. After reviewing the cases of massless fields with spin $s=1,2$, we provide a detailed derivation for path integrals of massless fields of arbitrary integer spins $s\geq 1$. Following the standard procedure of Wick-rotating the negative conformal modes, we find a higher spin analog of Polchinski's phase for any integer spin $s\geq 2$. The derivations for low-spin ($s=0,1,2$) massive, shift-symmetric and partially massless fields are also carried out explicitly. Finally, we provide general prescriptions for general massive and shift-symmetric fields of arbitrary integer spins and partially massless fields of arbitrary integer spins and depths.