Related papers: Making sense of ghosts
A novel theory of Quantum Gravity is presented in which the real gravitons manifest themselves as holes in space. In general, these holes propagate at the speed of light through an expanding universe with boundary denoted by U, which is…
We show how uncertainty in the causal structure of field theory is essentially inevitable when one includes quantum gravity. This includes the fact that lightcones are ill-defined in such a theory. This effect is small in the effective…
We address the long-standing ``ghost problem" in higher time-derivative theories (HTDTs), where quantisation typically yields sectors with either unbounded spectra or non-normalisable eigenstates; both rendering the theory unphysical. We…
Quantum Hoare logic allows us to reason about quantum programs. We present an extension of quantum Hoare logic that introduces "ghost variables" to extend the expressive power of pre-/postconditions. Ghost variables are variables that do…
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…
It has been suggested that a scalar field with negative kinetic energy, or ``ghost,'' could be the source of the observed late-time cosmological acceleration. Naively, such theories should be ruled out by the catastrophic quantum…
We argue that Lee-Wick's complex ghost appearing in any higher derivative theory is stable and its asymptotic field exists. It may be more appropriate to call it ``anti-unstable" in the sense that, the more the ghost `decays' into lighter…
We propose a new non-perturbative method for studying UV complete unitary quantum field theories (QFTs) with a mass gap in general number of spacetime dimensions. The method relies on unitarity formulated as positive semi-definiteness of…
The search for a theory of quantum gravity faces two great challenges: the incredibly small scales of the Planck length and time, and the possibility that the observed constants of nature are in part the result of random processes. A…
Poincar\'e gauge theories provide an approach to gravity based on the gauging of the Poincar\'e group, whose homogeneous part generates curvature while the translational sector gives rise to torsion. In this note we revisit the stability of…
We revisit the problem of the helicity-0 ghost mode of massive graviton in the de Sitter background. In general, the presence of a ghost particle, which has negative energy, drives the vacuum to be unstable through pair production of ghost…
We present a detailed investigation of scattering processes in $W_3$ string theory. We discover further physical states with continuous momentum, which involve excitations of the ghosts as well as the matter, and use them to gain a better…
We discuss the challenges that the standard (Humean and non-Humean) accounts of laws face within the framework of quantum gravity where space and time may not be fundamental. This paper identifies core (meta)physical features that cut…
We revisit the previously unsolved problems of ensuring Lorentz invariance and non-perturbative unitarity in Lee-Wick theories. We base our discussion on an ultraviolet completion of QED by Lee-Wick ghost fields, which is argued to be…
In the first order formalism of gravitational theories, the spacetime connection is considered as an independent variable to vary together with the metric. However, the metric still generates its Levi-Civita connection that turns out to…
We consider the asymptotic-safety scenario for quantum gravity which constructs a non-perturbatively renormalisable quantum gravity theory with the help of the functional renormalisation group. We verify the existence of a non-Gaussian…
In the context of Lorentz-invariant massive gravity we show that classical solutions around heavy sources are plagued by ghost instabilities. The ghost shows up in the effective field theory at huge distances from the source, much bigger…
We give a simple discussion of ghosts, unitarity violation, negative norm states and quantum vs classical behavior in the simplest model with four derivative action - the Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator. We also point out that the normalizable…
Generalised Probabilistic Theories (GPTs) provide a unifying framework encompassing classical theories, quantum theories, as well as hypothetical alternatives. We investigate the problem of extending a system with a finite set of…
A unified theory of four-dimensional gravity together with the standard model is presented, with supersymmetry breaking of M-theory at a TeV. Masses of the the known particles are derived. The cosmological constant is quantum generated to…