Superconformal Higher Spin Theory in Three Dimensions

This thesis aims at constructing a superconformal higher spin theory in three spacetime dimensions. Such theories are of great interest, for instance, since they are believed to appear in the tensionless limit of string theory. They can also directly be related to theories of quantum gravity expressed as string and M-theories on AdS spaces, via the AdS/CFT correspondence. The construction of the superconformal higher spin theory employed in this thesis relies heavily on both the Cartan formalism of supergravity and gauge theory. After these have been introduced, both the conformal and superconformal algebras are constructed. These are then quantized in a way that enables a convenient extension to their respective higher spin version. The corresponding superconformal higher spin theory can either be formulated as a Chern-Simons gauge theory, or as a higher spin theory expressed in the unfolded formalism. By utilizing this, the field equations of the theory are derived using the equation of motion from respective approach, the zero field strength equation and the unfolded equation. By studying the consistent spin 2 truncation of the theory, the first steps towards a deeper understanding of the relation between the two approaches are taken. Finally, it is discussed how the constructed superconformal higher spin theory might also lead to new insights regarding the AdS/CFT correspondence and how this, in turn, can be used to obtain results in string and M-theory