English

Topologically massive gravity as a Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2009-11-11 v2 High Energy Physics - Theory

Abstract

We give a detailed account of the free field spectrum and the Newtonian limit of the linearized "massive" (Pauli-Fierz), "topologically massive" (Einstein-Hilbert-Chern-Simons) gravity in 2+1 dimensions about a Minkowski spacetime. For a certain ratio of the parameters, the linearized free theory is Jordan-diagonalizable and reduces to a degenerate "Pais-Uhlenbeck" oscillator which, despite being a higher derivative theory, is ghost-free.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.gr-qc/0608085,
  title  = {Topologically massive gravity as a Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator},
  author = {Ozgur Sarioglu and Bayram Tekin},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:gr-qc/0608085},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

9 pages, no figures, RevTEX4; version 2: a new paragraph and a reference added to the Introduction, a new appendix added to review Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillators; accepted for publication in Class. Quant. Grav