Related papers: A note on spin two fields in curved backgrounds
In (2+1) space-time dimensions the Einstein theory of gravity has no local degrees of freedom. In fact, in the presence of a negative cosmological term, it is described by a (1+1) dimensional theory living on its boundary: Liouville theory.…
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 consider a class of modified gravity models where the terms added to the standard Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian are just a function of the metric only. For linearized perturbations around an isotropic space-time, this class of models is…
We compute the one-loop divergences in a higher-derivative theory of gravity including Ricci tensor squared and Ricci scalar squared terms, in addition to the Hilbert and cosmological terms, on an (generally off-shell) Einstein background.…
Any canonical quantum theory can be understood to arise from the compatibility of the statistical geometry of distinguishable observations with the canonical Poisson structure of Hamiltonian dynamics. This geometric perspective offers a…
We analyse cosmological perturbations around a homogeneous and isotropic background for scalar-tensor, vector-tensor and bimetric theories of gravity. Building on previous results, we propose a unified view of the effective parameters of…
We present a model of the gravitational field based on two symmetric tensors. Gravity is affected by the new field, but outside matter the predictions of the model coincide exactly with general relativity, so all classical tests are…
The coupling problem of higher spin fields with a non dynamical background is revisited, focussing our attention in 2+1 dimensional space-time. Starting with a suitable Lagrangian field formulation, we study causality and the conservation…
We argue that the instability of Euclidean Einstein gravity is an indication that the vacuum is non perturbative and contains a condensate of the metric tensor in a manner reminiscent of Yang-Mills theories. As a simple step toward the…
We show that the gravitational field equations derived from an action composed of i) an arbitrary function of the scalar curvature and other scalar fields plus ii) connection-independent kinetic and source terms, are identical whether one…
We consider the standard model with local scale invariance. The theory shows exact scale invariance of dimensionally regulated action. We show that massless gauge fields, which may be abelian or non-abelian, lead to vanishing contribution…
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 compute the running of the cosmological constant and Newton's constant taking into account the effect of quantum fields with any spin between 0 and 2. We find that Newton's constant does not vary appreciably but the cosmological constant…
We use astrophysical data to shed light on fundamental physics by constraining parametrized theoretical cosmological and gravitational models. Gravitational parameters are those constants that parametrize possible departures from Einstein's…
The framework for considering the astronomical and cosmological observations in the context of scalar-tensor quintessence in which the quintessence field also accounts for a time dependence of the gravitational constant is developed. The…
Motivated by conventional gauge theories, we consider a theory of gravity in which the Einstein-Hilbert action is replaced by a term that is quadratic in the Riemann tensor. We focus on cosmological solutions to the field equations in flat,…
Finding effective theories of modified gravity that can resolve cosmological singularities and avoid other physical pathologies such as ghost and gradient instabilities has turned out to be a rather difficult task. The concept of limiting…
This paper presents the first derivation of the quadratic action for curvature perturbations, $\zeta$, within the framework of cuscuton gravity. We study the scalar cosmological perturbations sourced by a canonical single scalar field in…
We show that perturbative quantum gravity based on the Einstein-Hilbert action, has a novel continuum limit. The renormalized trajectory emanates from the Gaussian fixed point along (marginally) relevant directions but enters the…
We point out that the duality symmetry of free electromagnetism does not hold in the quantum theory if an arbitrary classical gravitational background is present. The symmetry breaks in the process of renormalization, as also happens with…