Related papers: Effective delta sources and regularity in higher-d…
We exhibit novel effects (absent in GR) of sources in massive gravity. First, we show that removing its ghost mode forces a field-current identity: The metric's trace is locally proportional to that of its stress tensor; a point source…
We discuss the quantum-mechanical scattering of a massless scalar field on a $\delta$-potential in a ghost-free theory and obtain analytic solutions for the scattering coefficients. Due to the non-locality of the ghost-free theory the…
Fourth-derivative gravity has two free parameters, $\alpha$ and $\beta$, which couple the curvature-squared terms $R^2$ and $R_{\mu\nu}^2$. Relativistic effects and short-range laboratory experiments can be used to provide upper limits to…
We study cosmological applications of extended vector-tensor theories, whose Lagrangians contain up to two derivatives with respect to metric and vector field. We derive background equations under the assumption of homogeneous and isotropic…
We discuss aspects of non-perturbative unitarity in quantum field theory. The additional ghost degrees of freedom arising in "truncations" of an effective action at a finite order in derivatives could be fictitious degrees of freedom. Their…
We study the degrees of freedom of the metric in a general class of higher derivative gravity models, which are interesting in the context of quantum gravity as they are (super)renormalizable. First, we linearize the theory for a flat…
We review general domain-wall solutions supported by a delta-function source, together with a single pure exponential scalar potential in supergravity. These scalar potentials arise from a sphere reduction in M-theory or string theory.…
We consider the minimal low-energy action for gravity up to six derivatives which is renormalizable at the two-loop level modulo higher derivative corrections. Then we study the classical solutions corresponding to the Schwarzschild and the…
A new representation is found for the action of the recently suggested ghost-free nonlocal gravity models generating de Sitter or Anti-de Sitter background with an arbitrary value of the effective cosmological constant. This representation…
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 consider a higher-derivative generalization of disformal transformations in $D$-dimensional spacetime and clarify the conditions under which they form a group with respect to the matrix product and the functional composition. These…
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…
We consider a class of higher order corrections with arbitrary power $n$ of the curvature tensor to the standard gravity action in arbitrary space-time dimension $D$. The corrections are in the form of Euler densities and are unique at each…
In order to explore some general features of modified theories of gravity which involve higher derivatives and spontaneous Lorentz and/or diffeomorphism symmetry breaking, we study the recently proposed new version of covariant…
We consider a general Kaluza-Klein reduction of a truncated Lovelock theory. We find necessary geometric conditions for the reduction to be consistent. The resulting lower-dimensional theory is a higher derivative scalar-tensor theory,…
We study the gravitational field sourced by localized scalar fields (lumps) in higher-derivative theories of gravity. By working in a static and spherically symmetric configuration, we find the linearized spacetime metrics generated by…
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…
By employing consistent supersymmetric higher derivative terms, we show that the supersymmetric theories may have a sector where the scalar potential does no longer have the conventional form. The theories under consideration contain…
The role of Lorentz symmetry in ghost-free massive gravity is studied, emphasizing features emerging in approximately Minkowski spacetime. The static extrema and saddle points of the potential are determined and their Lorentz properties…
The most general version of a renormalizable $d=4$ theory corresponding to a dimensionless higher-derivative scalar field model in curved spacetime is explored. The classical action of the theory contains $12$ independent functions, which…