Three-dimensional ghost-free representations of the Pais-Uhlenbeck model from Tri-Hamiltonians
Abstract
We present a detailed analysis of the sixth-order Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator and construct three-dimensional ghost-free representations through a Tri-Hamiltonian framework. We identify a six-dimensional Abelian Lie algebra of the PU model's dynamical flow and derive a hierarchy of conserved Hamiltonians governed by multiple compatible Poisson structures. These structures enable the realisation of a complete Tri-Hamiltonian formulation that generates identical dynamical flows. Positive-definite Hamiltonians are constructed, and their relation to the full Tri-Hamiltonian hierarchy is analysed. Furthermore, we develop a mapping between the PU model and a class of three-dimensional coupled second-order systems, revealing explicit conditions for ghost-free equivalence. We also explore the consequences of introducing interaction terms, showing that the multi-Hamiltonian structure is generally lost in such cases.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2509.13925,
title = {Three-dimensional ghost-free representations of the Pais-Uhlenbeck model from Tri-Hamiltonians},
author = {Alexander Felski and Andreas Fring and Bethan Turner},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.13925},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
14 pages, 1 figure