Geometric classification of conformal anomalies in arbitrary dimensions

S. Deser, A. Schwimmer
1993 Physics Letters B  
We give a complete geometric description of conformal anomalies in arbitrary, (necessarily even) dimension. They fall into two distinct classes: the first, based on Weyl invariants that vanish at integer dimensions, arises from finite -- and hence scale-free -- contributions to the effective gravitational action through a mechanism analogous to that of the (gauge field) chiral anomaly. Like the latter, it is unique and proportional to a topological term, the Euler density of the dimension,
more » ... by preserving scale invariance. The contributions of the second class, requiring introduction of a scale through regularization, are correlated to all local conformal scalar polynomials involving powers of the Weyl tensor and its derivatives; their number increases rapidly with dimension. Explicit illustrations in dimensions 2, 4 and 6 are provided.
doi:10.1016/0370-2693(93)90934-a fatcat:62atjvsfj5e37nn4jaydccgvbu