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The question of building a local diff-invariant effective gravitational action for the trace anomaly is reconsidered. General Relativity (GR) combined with the existing action for the trace anomaly is an inconsistent low energy effective…
We consider a problem whether bound states are made in a scalar theory with a fourth-order derivative term or not. After rewriting the theory to a standard scalar theory with second-order derivative terms, we calculate a correlation…
We discuss some problems related to dimensional reductions of gravity theories to two-dimensional and one-dimensional dilaton gravity models. We first consider the most general cylindrical reductions of the four-dimensional gravity and…
We develop a superfield approach to compute chiral anomalies in general ${\cal N}=(1,0)$ supersymmetric gauge theories in six dimensions. Within the harmonic-superspace formulation for these gauge theories, the anomalous contributions to…
We argue that the presence of conformal anomalies in gravitational theories can lead to observable modifications to Einstein's equations via the induced anomalous effective actions, whose non-localities can overwhelm the smallness of the…
We suggest and briefly review a new sort of superrenormalizable models of higher derivative quantum gravity. The higher derivative terms in the action can be introduced in such a way that all the unphysical massive states have complex…
Asymptotic safety (an ultraviolet fixed point with finite-dimensional critical surface) offers the possibility that a predictive theory of quantum gravity can be obtained from the quantization of classical general relativity. However, it is…
It is conventionally taken for granted that the unitary gauge formulation of quantum gauge field theory has the advantage of preservation unitarity because only physical fields are involved but has the disadvantage of losing…
The gravitational collapse in fourth order theories of gravity defined by an arbitrary action of the scalar curvature shows significant deviations with General Relativity. The presence of a new scalar mode produces a higher initial…
We revisit 't Hooft anomalies in (1+1)$d$ non-spin quantum field theory, starting from the consistency and locality conditions, and find that consistent U(1) and gravitational anomalies cannot always be canceled by properly quantized…
I briefly discuss the challenges presented by attempting to modify general relativity to obtain an explanation for the observed accelerated expansion of the universe. Foremost among these are the questions of theoretical consistency - the…
We study gaugino condensation in presence of an anomalous $U(1)$ gauge group and find that global supersymmetry is dynamically broken. An example of particular interest is provided by effective string models with 4-dimensional Green-Schwarz…
Theories which contain ghost fields are considered to be invalid. It is assumed that for such theories the energy is unbounded from below, and the theory will be unstable, allowing the creation of particle pairs with arbitrarily large…
We address neutron stars and black holes in alternative gravities, after recalling their basic properties in General Relativity. Among the plethora of interesting alternative gravities we here focus on an interesting set of scalar-tensor…
Anomalies are a very powerful tool in constraining theories beyond the standard model. We give a pedagogical overview of some topics illustrating the important role played by spacetime anomalies in string theory. After discussing the…
We extend the gauge coupling of Super-Yang-Mills theories to an external superfield composed out of a chiral and an antichiral superfield and perform renormalization in the extended model. In one-loop order we find an anomalous breaking of…
We review and clarify the cancellation conditions for gauge anomalies which occur when N=1, D=4 supergravity is coupled to a Kahler non-linear sigma-model with gauged isometries and Fayet-Iliopoulos couplings. For a flat sigma-model target…
A cancellation of conformal anomalies in d=4 for the $C^2+\bar C^2$ and of chiral anomalies for the $C^2-\bar C^2$ is known in N-extended supergravities with $N \geq 5$. We propose an explanation of these cancellations using supersymmetry…
We explore the real solutions to the Spherical Collapse Model in a non-flat Universe with a Cosmological Constant, and observe a possible situation for a fake or Ghost Collapse, in which an expanding overdense spherical region, turns around…
Assuming the existence of a scalar field which undergoes "ghost condensation" and which has a suitably chosen potential, it is possible to obtain a non-singular bouncing cosmology in the presence of regular matter and radiation. The…