Related papers: AI--Assisted Exploration: DHOST Theories without Q…
We construct the metric-affine analogue of the quadratic degenerate higher-order scalar-tensor (DHOST) theories. We begin with the metric-affine completion of the quadratic DHOST scalar-tensor action, which is linear in curvature and…
In this paper we provide the criteria for any generally covariant, parity preserving, and torsion free theory of gravity to possess a stable de Sitter (dS) or anti-de Sitter (AdS) background. By stability we mean the absence of tachyonic or…
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…
Theories with higher derivatives involve linear instabilities in the Hamiltonian commonly known as Ostrogradski ghosts and can be viewed as a very serious problem during quantization. To cure {this} , we have considered the properties of…
Most existing theories of dark energy and/or modified gravity, involving a scalar degree of freedom, can be conveniently described within the framework of the Effective Theory of Dark Energy, based on the unitary gauge where the scalar…
The effective field theory of massive gravity had long been formulated in a generally covariant way arXiv:hep-th/0210184. Using this formalism, it has been found recently that there exists a class of massive nonlinear theories that are free…
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…
This article reviews scalar-tensor theories characterized by a Lagrangian that, despite the presence of second order derivatives, contain a single scalar degree of freedom. These theories, known as Degenerate Higher-Order Scalar-Tensor…
This manuscript reviews the construction of exact solutions describing both (rotating) black holes and non-linear radiative spacetimes in the context of degenerate higher order scalar-tensor (DHOST) theories. We start be reviewing the…
Non-integrability in the sense of dynamical systems, also known as dynamical chaos, is a strongly nonlinear qualitative phenomenon. Its most promising theoretical descriptions are likely to emerge from non-perturbative approaches, with…
We classify all the first-order vertices of gravity consistently coupled to a system of 2-form gauge fields by computing the local BRST cohomology H(s|d) in ghost number 0 and form degree n. The consistent deformations are at most linear in…
We study the problem of how to derive conformal symmetry in the framework of quantum gravity. We start with a generic gravitational theory which is invariant under both the general coordinate transformation (GCT) and Weyl transformation (or…
Invertible disformal transformations are a useful tool to investigate ghost-free scalar-tensor theories. By performing a higher-derivative generalization of the invertible disformal transformation on Horndeski theories, we construct a novel…
Generalized disformal transformations enable us to construct the generalized disformal Horndeski theories, which form the most general class of ghost-free scalar-tensor theories to this date. We extend the effective field theory (EFT) of…
We investigate the details of the canonical quantization of effective quantum field theories in anti-de Sitter spacetime, emphasizing the stability of the quantum vacuum. We take the scalar and Maxwell fields as examples. For the…
Given a gauge theory with gauge group G, it is sometimes useful to find an equivalent formulation in terms of a non-trivial gauge subgroup H of G. This amounts to fixing the gauge partially from G down to H. We study this problem…
The Ostrogradski ghost problem that appears in higher derivative theories containing constraints has been considered here. Specifically we have considered systems where only the second class constraints appear. For these kind of systems, it…
We investigate static and spherically symmetric black hole (BH) solutions in shift-symmetric quadratic-order degenerate higher-order scalar-tensor (DHOST) theories. We allow a nonconstant kinetic term $X=g^{\mu\nu}…
The aim of these notes is to provide a self-contained review of why it is generically a problem when a solution of a theory possesses ghost fields among the perturbation modes. We define what a ghost field is and we show that its presence…
We show a new class of interaction terms with higher derivatives that can be added to every low derivative real scalar, such that the theory is degenerate, and the equation of motion remains of second order. In contrast to previous setups,…