We show how Einstein-Cartan gravity can accommodate both global scale and local scale (Weyl) invariance. To this end, we construct a wide class of models with nonpropagating torsion and a nonminimally coupled scalar field. In phenomenological applications the scalar field is associated with the Higgs boson. For global scale invariance, an additional field-dilaton-is needed to make the theory phenomenologically viable. In the case of the Weyl symmetry, the dilaton is spurious and the theory reduces to a subclass of one-field models. In both scenarios of scale invariance, we derive an equivalent metric theory and discuss possible implications for phenomenology.
Frédéric Courbin, Georges Meylan
Jiaxi Yu, Daniel Felipe Forero Sanchez, Antoine Philippe Jacques Rocher, Rafaela Gsponer