We consider the electromagnetic and gravitational interactions of a massive
Rarita-Schwinger field. Stueckelberg analysis of the system, when coupled to
electromagnetism in flat space or to gravity, reveals in either case that the
effective field theory has a model-independent upper bound on its UV cutoff,
which is finite but parametrically larger than the particle's mass. It is the
helicity-1/2 mode that becomes strongly coupled at the cutoff scale. If the
interactions are inconsistent, the same mode becomes a telltale sign of
pathologies. Alternatively, consistent interactions are those that propagate
this mode within the light cone. Studying its dynamics not only sheds light on
the Velo-Zwanziger acausality, but also elucidates why supergravity and other
known consistent models are pathology-free.Comment: 18 pages, cutoff analysis improved, to appear in PR
