Related papers: Superrenormalizable quantum gravity with complex g…
We present the most general covariant ghost-free gravitational action in a Minkowski vacuum. Apart from the much studied f(R) models, this includes a large class of non-local actions with improved UV behavior, which nevertheless recover…
We present new possibilities for the charge response in the quantum critical regime in 2+1D using holography, and compare them with field theory and recent quantum Monte Carlo results. We show that a family of (infinitely many) higher…
We find unitary and local theories of higher curvature gravity in the vielbein formalism, known as the Poincar\'{e} gauge theory by utilizing the equivalence to the ghost-free massive bigravity. We especially focus on three and four…
Theories with infinite volume extra dimensions open exciting opportunities for particle physics. We argued recently that along with attractive features there are phenomenological difficulties in this class of models. In fact, there is no…
In the Brans-Dicke model we treat the scalar field exactly and expand the gravitational field in a power series. A comparison with 2D sigma models and \phi^{4} perturbation theory in four dimensions suggests that the perturbation series in…
It is well-known that perturbative quantum gravity is non-renormalizable. The metric or vierbein has generally been used as the variable to quantize in perturbative quantum gravity. In this essay, we show that one can use the spin…
The quantum cosmology of two-dimensional dilaton-gravity models is investigated. A class of models is mapped onto the constrained oscillator-ghost-oscillator model. A number of exact and approximate solutions to the corresponding…
The focus of the present work is on the Cauchy problem for the quadratic gravity models introduced in \cite{stelle}-\cite{stelle2}. These are renormalizable higher order derivative models of gravity, but at cost of ghostly states…
We present a 3-dimensional model for massive gravity with masses induced by topological (Chern-Simons) and Proca-like mass terms. Causality and unitarity are discussed at tree-level. Power-counting renormalizability is also contemplated.
We consider higher derivative supergravities that are dual to ghost-free $N=1$ supergravity theories in the Einstein frame. The duality is implemented by deforming the K\"ahler function, and/or the superpotential, to include nonlinear…
Invertible disformal transformations serve as a useful tool to explore ghost-free scalar-tensor theories. In this paper, we construct a generalization of invertible disformal transformations that involves arbitrary higher-order covariant…
The objective of this thesis is to present a viable extension of general relativity free from cosmological singularities. A viable cosmology, in this sense, is one that is free from ghosts, tachyons or exotic matter, while staying true to…
It has been argued that the superpotential can be renormalized in the presence of massless particles. Possible implications which have been considered include the restoration of supersymmetry at higher loops or a shift to a supersymmetric…
We investigate some aspects of anomaly cancellation realized by the subtraction of an anomaly pole, stressing on some of its properties in superspace. In a local formulation these subtractions can be described in terms of a physical scalar,…
In this paper we investigate possible consistent ghost-free models containing massive spin 2 particles in three dimensions. We work in a constructive approach based on the frame-like gauge invariant description for such massive spin 2…
Typically higher-derivative theories are unstable. Instabilities manifest themselves from extra propagating degrees of freedom, which are unphysical. In this paper, we will investigate an infinite derivative field theory and study its true…
We consider massive higher-spin multiplets coupled to quantum gravity and compute their contributions to the gravitational beta functions at one loop. Such theories, if quantized with the Feynman prescription, would contain ghosts. Instead,…
In this work we develop a theoretical framework for Gauss-Bonnet modified gravity theories, in which ghost modes can be eliminated at the equations of motion level. Particularly, after we present how the ghosts can occur at the level of…
We argue that the torus partition sum in $2d$ (super) gravity, which counts physical states in the theory, is a decreasing function of the renormalization group scale. As an application we chart the space of $(\hat c\leq1)$ $c\leq1$ models…
In this paper, we propose a toy model of the renormalizable theory describing massive spin two field. Although the model is renormalizable, we show that the model contains ghost. The coupling of the theory with gravity can be regarded as a…