Related papers: Classical stability of higher-derivative q-theory …
In theories with higher time derivatives, the Hamiltonian analysis of Ostrogradsky predicts an instability. However, this Hamiltonian treatment does not correspond the way that these theories are treated in quantum field theory, and the…
We review how the (absence of) Ostrogradsky instability manifests itself in theories with multiple fields. It has recently been appreciated that when multiple fields are present, the existence of higher derivatives may not automatically…
We observe that a wide class of higher-derivative systems admits a bounded integral of motion that ensures the classical stability of dynamics, while the canonical energy is unbounded. We use the concept of a Lagrange anchor to demonstrate…
Generic higher derivative theories are believed to be fundamentally unphysical because they contain Ostrogradsky ghosts. We show that within complex classical mechanics it is possible to construct higher derivative theories that circumvent…
The status of classical stability in higher-derivative systems is still subject to discussions. In this note, we argue that, contrary to general belief, many higher-derivative systems are classically stable. The main tool to see this…
Quadratic gravity is a UV completion of general relativity, which also solves the hierarchy problem. The presence of 4 derivatives implies via the Ostrogradsky theorem that the $classical$ Hamiltonian is unbounded from below. Here we solve…
We derive the most generic Carrollian higher derivative free scalar field theory intrinsically on a Carrollian manifold. The solutions to these theories are massless free particles propagating with speeds depending on the coupling constants…
We consider all degenerate scalar-tensor theories that depend quadratically on second order derivatives of a scalar field, which we have identified in a previous work. These theories, whose degeneracy in general ensures the absence of…
By means of a simple scalar field theory it is demonstrated that the Lagrange formalism and Ostrogradsky's Hamilton formalism in the presence of higher derivatives, in general, do not lead to the same results. While the two approaches are…
We propose a new class of higher derivative scalar-tensor theories without the Ostrogradsky's ghost instabilities. The construction of our theory is originally motivated by a scalar field with spacelike gradient, which enables us to fix a…
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 review the fate of the Ostrogradsky ghost in higher-order theories. We start by recalling the original Ostrogradsky theorem and illustrate, in the context of classical mechanics, how higher-derivatives Lagrangians lead to unbounded…
We consider the class of higher derivative field equations whose wave operator is a square of another self-adjoint operator of lower order. At the free level, the models of this class are shown to admit a two-parameter series of integrals…
The development of instability in the dynamics of theories with higher derivatives is traced in detail in the framework of the Pais-Uhlenbeck fourth oder oscillator. For this aim the external friction force is introduced in the model and…
We discuss the stability of (charged) static black holes in higher-dimensional spacetimes with and without cosmological constant by using gauge-invariant master equations of the Schroedinger equation type for black hole perturbations…
We review the ghost-free four-derivative terms for chiral superfields in $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry and supergravity. These terms induce cubic polynomial equations of motion for the chiral auxiliary fields and correct the scalar…
A discussion of an extended class of higher-derivative classical theories of gravity is presented. A procedure is given for exhibiting the new propagating degrees of freedom, at the full non-linear level, by transforming the…
We obtain Q-ball solutions in noncommutative scalar field theory with a global U(1) invariance. The Q-ball solutions are shown to be classically and quantum mechanically stable. We also find that "excited Q-ball" states exist for some class…
We discuss the instabilities appearing in the cosmological model with a quasi de Sitter phase following from a fourth-order gravity theory. Both the classical equation as well as the quantization in form of a Wheeler - De Witt equation are…
The Ostrogradsky theorem states that any classical Lagrangian that contains time derivatives higher than the first order and is nondegenerate with respect to the highest-order derivatives leads to an unbounded Hamiltonian which linearly…