Related papers: Linear Higher-Order Maxwell-Einstein-Scalar Theori…
A novel Dirac Hamiltonian formulation of the first order Einstein-Hilbert (EH) action, in which algebraic constraints are not solved to eliminate fields from the action at the Lagrangian level, has been shown to lead to an action and a…
We consider a new form of theories of gravity in which the action is written in terms of the Ricci scalar and its first and second derivatives. Despite the higher derivative nature of the action, the theory is free from ghost under an…
We consider in detail the problem of gauge dependence that exists in relativistic perturbation theory, going beyond the linear approximation and treating second and higher order perturbations. We first derive some mathematical results…
Scalar-tensor theories are one of the most natural and well-constrained alternative theories of gravity, while still allowing for significant deviations from general relativity. We present the equations of motion of nonspinning compact…
We argue that a consistent coupling of a quantum theory to gravity requires an extension of ordinary `first order' Riemannian geometry to second order Riemannian geometry, which incorporates both a line element and an area element. This…
Deformations of maximal supergravity theories induced by gauging non-abelian subgroups of the duality group reveal the presence of charged M-theory degrees of freedom that are not necessarily contained in supergravity. The relation with…
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…
The Horndeski scalar-tensor theory and its recent extensions allow nonlinear derivative interactions of the scalar degree of freedom. We study the matter bispectrum of large scale structure as a probe of these modified gravity theories,…
We consider Higher-Order Scalar-Tensor theories which appear degenerate when restricted to the unitary gauge but are not degenerate in an arbitrary gauge. We dub them U-degenerate theories. We provide a full classification of theories that…
We present a method for parametrizing linear cosmological perturbations of theories of gravity, around homogeneous and isotropic backgrounds. The method is sufficiently general and systematic that it can be applied to theories with any…
I show how prior work with R. Wald on geodesic motion in general relativity can be generalized to classical field theories of a metric and other tensor fields on four-dimensional spacetime that 1) are second-order and 2) follow from a…
A study of the noncommutative Schwinger model is presented. It is shown that the Schwinger mass is not modified by the noncommutativity of spacetime till the first nontrivial order in the noncommutative parameter. Instead, a higher…
We consider Galileon models on curved spacetime, as well as the counterterms introduced to maintain the second-order nature of the field equations of these models when both the metric and the scalar are made dynamical. Working in a gauge…
One of the open problems in higher category theory is the systematic construction of the higher dimensional analogues of the Gray tensor product. In this paper we continue the work of [7] to adapt the machinery of globular operads [4] to…
The lattice model of scalar quantum electrodynamics (Maxwell field coupled to a complex scalar field) in the Hamiltonian framework is discussed. It is shown that the algebra of observables ${\cal O}({\Lambda})$ of this model is a…
We explore field theories of a single p-form with equations of motions of order strictly equal to two and gauge invariance. We give a general method for the classification of such theories which are extensions to the p-forms of the Galileon…
We introduce and analyse a few examples of massless higher spin theories in Minkowski spacetime. They are defined in terms of master fields, i.e. fields defined in the whole phase space. More specifically we introduce the HS YM-like…
We consider a possible (parity conserving) interaction between the electromagnetic field $F$ and a torsion field $T^\alpha$ of spacetime. For generic elementary torsion, gauge invariant coupling terms of lowest order fall into two classes…
The evolution equations of Einstein's theory and of Maxwell's theory---the latter used as a simple model to illustrate the former--- are written in gauge covariant first order symmetric hyperbolic form with only physically natural…
We show how to systematically construct higher-derivative terms in effective actions in harmonic superspace despite the infinite redundancy in their description due to the infinite number of auxiliary fields. Making an assumption about the…