Related papers: Ghost condensation and Ostrogradskian instability …
We construct gravitational modifications that go beyond Horndeski, namely theories with extended nonminimal derivative couplings, in which the coefficient functions depend not only on the scalar field but also on its kinetic energy. Such…
We study inflationary solution in an extension of mimetic gravity with the higher derivative interactions coupled to gravity. Because of the higher derivative interactions, the setup is free from the ghost and gradient instabilities while…
We study new classes of metric transformations in the context of scalar-tensor theories, which involve both higher derivatives of the scalar field and derivatives of the metric itself. In general, such transformations are not invertible as…
Contrary to common belief, it is shown that theories whose field equations are higher than second order in derivatives need not be stricken with ghosts. In particular, the prototypical fourth-order derivative Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator model…
We discuss exactly solvable systems involving integrals of motion with higher powers of momenta. If one of these integrals is chosen for the Hamiltonian, we obtain a higher-derivative system involving ghosts, i.e. a system whose Hamiltonian…
Degenerate Higher Order Scalar Tensor (DHOST) theories are the most general scalar-tensor theories whose Lagrangian depends on the metric tensor and a single scalar field and its derivatives up to second order. They propagate only one…
The universe's current acceleration is a pretty recent phenomenon in cosmological time scales. This means that the modes that have left our horizon since the beginning of the contemporary acceleration phase, have not really reached the…
We discuss the no-ghost theorem in the massive gravity in a covariant manner. Using the BRST formalism and St\"{u}ckelberg fields, we first clarify how the Boulware-Deser ghost decouples in the massive gravity theory with Fierz-Pauli mass…
We present an example of the quantum system with higher derivatives in the Lagrangian, which is ghost-free: the spectrum of the Hamiltonian is bounded from below and unitarity is preserved.
We present for the first time a ghost-free higher-derivative chiral model with a propagating auxiliary F-term field (highest component of the chiral multiplet). We obtain this model by removing a ghost in a higher derivative chiral model,…
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 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…
We study stochastic inflation in the presence of higher-curvature terms non-minimally coupled to the inflaton. Focusing on quadratic curvature invariants, we single out the Gauss-Bonnet term which is known to avoid ghosts, while having…
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…
A well known extension of Einstein General Relativity is the addition of an $R^2$-term, which is free of ghost excitations and in the linearized framework, reduces Einstein General Relativity and an additional higher derivative scalar.…
We present all scalar-tensor Lagrangians that are cubic in second derivatives of a scalar field, and that are degenerate, hence avoiding Ostrogradsky instabilities. Thanks to the existence of constraints, they propagate no more than three…
Are Dark Matter the result of uncalculated addition derivatives? The need to introduce dark matter dark becomes unnecessary if we consider that, the phenomenon of dark matter is a result of not computing the additional derivatives of the…
We study cosmological perturbations for a ghost free massive gravity theory formulated with a dynamical extra metric that is needed to massive deform GR. In this formulation FRW background solutions fall in two branches. In the dynamics of…
Higher derivative quantum corrections are essential components of scalar tensor effective field theories (EFTs), yet they typically reintroduce the Ostrogradsky ghost instability that the classical theory was designed to evade. This paper…
In physics, all dynamical equations that describe fundamental interactions are second order ordinary differential equations in the time derivatives. In the literature, this property is traced back to a result obtained by Ostrogradski in the…