Related papers: Ostrogradsky in Theories with Multiple Fields
Invertible disformal transformations are a useful tool to investigate ghost-free scalar-tensor theories. By performing a higher-derivative generalization of the invertible disformal transformation on Horndeski theories, we construct a novel…
We prove that the linear instability in a non-degenerate higher derivative theory, the Ostrogradski instability, can only be removed by the addition of constraints if the original theory's phase space is reduced.
We systematically construct ghost-free scalar-tensor theories whose Lagrangian includes up to third-order derivatives of the scalar field. Using a spatially covariant action written in terms of the ADM variables, we impose degeneracy and…
Scalar-tensor theories are promising dark energy models. A promising scalar-tensor theory, called Horndeski-like gravity, is coming from the application of the Horndeski gravity in string theory and cosmology that takes into account two…
To overcome the difficulties with the energy indefiniteness in field theories with higher derivatives, it is supposed to use the mechanical analogy, the Timoshenko theory of the transverse flexural vibrations of beams or rods well known in…
We propose a framework for Lorentz-invariant Lagrangian field theories where Ostrogradsky's scalar ghosts could be absent. A key ingredient is the generalized Kronecker delta. The general Lagrangians are reformulated in the language of…
Recently modified gravitational theories which mimic the behaviour of dark matter, the so-called "Mimetic Dark Matter", have been proposed. We study the consistency of such theories with respect to the absence of ghost instability and…
We study the degrees of freedom in New General Relativity -- flat and metric compatible family of theories -- around the Minkowski background in a gauge invariant manner. First, we confirm the decoupling case, in which the theory reduces to…
A general framework for effective theories propagating two tensor and one scalar degrees of freedom is investigated. Geometrically, it describes dynamical foliation of spacelike hypersurfaces coupled to a general background, in which the…
In this manuscript we will present the theoretical framework of the recently proposed infinite derivative theory of gravity with a non-symmetric connection. We will explicitly derive the field equations at the linear level and obtain new…
The aim of these notes is to provide a self-contained review of why it is generically a problem when a solution of a theory possesses ghost fields among the perturbation modes. We define what a ghost field is and we show that its presence…
Newtons second law, Schrodingers equation and Maxwells equations are all theories composed of at most second-time derivatives. Indeed, it is not often we need to take the time derivative of the acceleration. So why are we not seeing more…
Most existing theories of dark energy and/or modified gravity, involving a scalar degree of freedom, can be conveniently described within the framework of the Effective Theory of Dark Energy, based on the unitary gauge where the scalar…
In the Horndeski's most general scalar-tensor theories with second-order field equations, we derive the conditions for the avoidance of ghosts and Laplacian instabilities associated with scalar, tensor, and vector perturbations in the…
We consider multiple scalar fields coupled to gravity, with special attention given to two-field theories. First, the conditions necessary for these theories to meet solar system tests are given. Next, we investigate the cosmological…
We present a thorough stability analysis of modified gravity theories in the presence of matter fields. We use the Effective Field Theory framework for Dark Energy and Modified Gravity to retain a general approach for the gravity sector and…
Scalar fields have played an important role in the development of the fundamental theories of physics as well as in other branches of physics such as gravitation and cosmology. For a long time these escaped detection until 2012 year when…
Higher derivative scalar interactions can give rise to interesting cosmological scenarios. We present a complete classification of such operators that can yield sizeable effects without introducing ghosts and, at the same time, define an…
Under the same spirit of the Galileon-Horndeski theories and their more modern extensions, the generalized SU(2) Proca theory was built by demanding that its action may be free of the Ostrogradski's instability. Nevertheless, the theory…
We revisit nonsingular cosmologies in which the limiting curvature hypothesis is realized. We study the cosmological perturbations of the theory and determine the general criteria for stability. For the simplest model, we find generic…