Related papers: Quantum discontinuity between zero and infinitesim…
In a previous paper we showed that the absence of the van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov discontinuity as M^2 -> 0 for massive spin-2 with a Lambda term is an artifact of the tree approximation, and that the discontinuity reappears at one loop, as a…
We show that the recently demonstrated absence of the van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov discontinuity for massive spin 3/2 with a Lambda term is an artifact of the tree level approximation, and that the discontinuity reappears at one loop. As a…
Massive spin 2 theories in flat or cosmological ($\Lambda \ne 0$) backgrounds are subject to discontinuities as the masses tend to zero. We show and explain physically why their Newtonian limits do not inherit this behaviour. On the other…
We address the question whether a graviton could have a small nonzero mass. The issue is subtle for two reasons: there is a discontinuity in the mass in the lowest tree-level approximation, and, moreover, the nonlinear four-dimensional…
It was suggested that observations of the solar system exclude massive gravity, in the sense that the graviton mass must be rigorously zero. This is because there is a discontinuity in the linearized gravity theory at graviton mass equal to…
We analyze the one-loop effects of massive fields on 2-to-2 scattering processes involving gravitons. It has been suggested that in the presence of gravity, any local effective field theory description must break down at the "species…
Lorentz-invariant massive gravity is usually associated with a strong coupling scale $\Lambda_3$. By including non-trivial effects from the Stueckelberg modes, we show that about these vacua, one can push the strong coupling scale to higher…
I review recent work on massive higher (s>1) spins in constant curvature (deSitter) spaces. Some of the novel properties that emerge are: partial masslessness and new local gauge invariances, unitarily forbidden ranges of mass, correlation…
We compute the one-loop contributions of the chronological products for massless gravity in the second order of the perturbation theory. We prove that the loop contributions are coboundaries i.e. expressions which give zero when averaged on…
We argue that the van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov discontinuity arising in the $M^2 \to 0$ limit of the massive graviton through an explicit Pauli-Fierz mass term could be absent in anti de Sitter space. This is possible if the graviton can…
The BCFW recursion relations provide a powerful way to compute tree amplitudes in gauge theories and gravity, but only hold if some amplitudes vanish when two of the momenta are taken to infinity in a particular complex direction. This is a…
It is believed that gravity will be explained in the framework of the existing quantum theory when one succeeds in eliminating divergencies at large momenta or small distances (although the phenomenon of gravity has been observed only at…
We continue our investigation of massive gravity in the massless limit of vanishing graviton mass. From gauge invariance we derive the most general coupling between scalar matter and gravity. We get further couplings beside the standard…
A form of infinite derivative gravity is free from ghost-like instabilities with improved small scale behavior. In this theory, we calculate the tree-level scattering amplitude and the corresponding weak field potential energy between two…
It has recently been suggested that in certain special nonsupersymmetric type II string compactifications, at least the first two perturbative contributions to the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ vanish. Support for perturbative vanishing…
We propose that at the beginning of the universe gravity existed in a limbo either because it was switched off or because it was only conformally coupled to all particles. This picture can be reverse-engineered from the requirement that the…
Relations between the graviton mass and the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ have led to some interesting implications. We show that in any approach which leads to a direct correlation between the graviton mass and $\Lambda$, either through…
I review briefly, primarily for relativists, a series of recent results, obtained with A. Waldron, on the novel behavior of massive higher (s>1) spin systems in constant curvature backgrounds. We find that the cosmological constant Lambda,…
We present a complete quantization of Lorentzian D=1+2 gravity with cosmological constant, coupled to a set of topological matter fields. The approach of Loop Quantum Gravity is used thanks to a partial gauge fixing leaving a residual gauge…
We consider effective theories with massive fields that have spins larger than or equal to two. We conjecture a universal cutoff scale on any such theory that depends on the lightest mass of such fields. This cutoff corresponds to the mass…