Equivalence between the Lovelock-Cartan action and a constrained gauge   theory
  We show that the four-dimensional Lovelock-Cartan action can be derived from a massless gauge theory for the $SO(1,3)$ group with an additional BRST trivial part. The model is originally composed by a topological sector and a BRST exact piece and has no explicit dependence on the metric, the vierbein or a mass parameter. The vierbein is introduced together with a mass parameter through some BRST trivial constraints. The effect of the constraints is to identify the vierbein with some of the additional fields, transforming the original action into the Lovelock-Cartan one. In this scenario, the mass parameter is identified with Newton's constant while the gauge field is identified with the spin-connection. The symmetries of the model are also explored. Moreover, the extension of the model to a quantum version is qualitatively discussed. 
O. C. Junqueira, A. D. Pereira, G. Sadovski, T. R. S. Santos, R. F.   Sobreiro and A. A. Tomaz
hep-th gr-qc