Related papers: Generalized ghost-free propagators in nonlocal fie…
We consider the ghost-free dRGT massive gravity with two of its three possible mass terms. This theory has five gravitational degrees of freedom. On Minkowski spacetime these modes have helicity-2, -1 and -0 and propagate on the Minkowski…
We present a detailed study of the viability of general vector-tensor theories of gravity in the presence of an arbitrary temporal background vector field. We find that there are six different classes of theories which are indistinguishable…
We consider higher-order derivative interactions beyond second-order generalized Proca theories that propagate only the three desired polarizations of a massive vector field besides the two tensor polarizations from gravity. These new…
We show that the non-locality recently identified in quantum gravity using resummation techniques propagates to the matter sector of the theory. We describe these non-local effects using effective field theory techniques. We derive the…
We explicitly show that general local higher-derivative theories with only complex conjugate ghosts and normal real particles are unitary at any perturbative order in the loop expansion. The proof presented here relies on integrating the…
Using a first order Chern-Simons-like formulation of gravity we systematically construct higher-derivative extensions of general relativity in three dimensions. The construction ensures that the resulting higher-derivative gravity theories…
We show that Minkowski higher-derivative quantum field theories are generically inconsistent, because they generate nonlocal, non-Hermitian ultraviolet divergences, which cannot be removed by means of standard renormalization procedures. By…
With fourth-order derivative theories leading to propagators of the generic ghost-like $1/(k^2-M_1^2)-1/(k^2-M_2^2)$ form, it would appear that such theories have negative norm ghost states and are not unitary. However on constructing the…
We construct the consistent ghost-free covariant scalar-vector-tensor gravity theories with second order equations of motion with derivative interactions. We impose locality, unitarity, Lorentz invariance and pseudo-Riemannian geometry as…
We propose a novel class of degenerate higher-order scalar-tensor theories as an extension of mimetic gravity. By performing a noninvertible conformal transformation on "seed" scalar-tensor theories which may be nondegenerate, we can…
We construct a fully covariant theory of massive gravity which does not require the introduction of an external reference metric, and overcomes the usual problems of massive gravity theories (fatal ghosts instabilities, acausality and/or…
We address the stability issue of Ricci-flat and maximally symmetric spacetimes in nonlocal gravity to all perturbative orders in the gravitational perturbation. Assuming a potential at least cubic in curvature tensors but quadratic in the…
Asymptotically nonlocal field theories represent a sequence of higher-derivative theories whose limit point is a ghost-free, infinite-derivative theory. Here we extend this framework, developed previously in a theory of real scalar fields,…
To reduce general relativity to the canonical Hamiltonian formalism and construct the path (functional) integral in a simpler and, especially in the discrete case, less singular way, one extends the configuration superspace, as in the…
A novel general expression is obtained for the graviton propagator from Lagrangian field theory by taking into account the necessary fact that in the functional differential approach of quantum field theory, in order to generate…
We investigate the weak-field regime of generalized hybrid metric-Palatini theories, described by a generic function \(f(R,\mathcal{R})\), where \(R\) is the metric Ricci scalar and \(\mathcal{R}\) is constructed from an independent…
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…
The asymptotic structure of three-dimensional hypergravity without cosmological constant is analyzed. In the case of gravity minimally coupled to a spin-$5/2$ field, a consistent set of boundary conditions is proposed, being wide enough so…
In this paper it is studied the propagator for the modified theory of gravity proposed by Ho\vrava. We first calculate the propagator in the $\lambda=1$ case and show that the main poles that arise correspond to the spin two particle and…
A simple example is given of the implementation of the usual method of asymptotic expansions for weak gravitational fields. A scalar, preferred-frame theory of gravitation is considered, but the method is general. Two kinds of asymptotic…