Einstein-Yang-Mills fields immune to quantum corrections

Abstract: Just recently, the class of all Einstein-Maxwell fields solving simultaneously also any higher-order modification of the Eintein-Maxwell theory has been completely identified. In the present work, we argue that, in view of our recent results on nonabelian gauge fields, analogous identification can be in fact achieved for Einstein-Yang-Mills fields associated with any compact and semisimple gauge group. In particular, any such solution consists of a $VSI$ (vanishing scalar invariant) spacetime metric and a $VSI$ gauge field, both subject to a simple tensorial condition. Based on that, we are able to provide explicit form of all such solutions and interpret them as gravitational and Yang-Mills plane-fronted waves propagating in flat spacetime along the common recurrent wave vector. The results have consequences also for theories with a richer field content, which is further illustrated on 10D heterotic supergravity.