Related papers: Ghost-free higher-derivative theory

As the first step to extend our understanding of higher-derivative theories, within the framework of analytic mechanics of point particles, we construct a ghost-free theory involving third-order time derivatives in Lagrangian. While…

A brief review of the physics of systems including higher derivatives in the Lagrangian is given. All such systems involve ghosts, i.e. the spectrum of the Hamiltonian is not bounded from below and the vacuum ground state is absent. Usually…

We consider the simplest nontrivial supersymmetric quantum mechanical system involving higher derivatives. We unravel the existence of additional bosonic and fermionic integrals of motion forming a nontrivial algebra. This allows one to…

The unimodular version of the ghost-free higher derivative gravity is obtained. It is the unimodular reduction of some particular lagrangians quadratic in curvature.

We construct no-ghost theories of analytic mechanics involving arbitrary higher-order derivatives in Lagrangian. It has been known that for theories involving at most second-order time derivatives in the Lagrangian, eliminating linear…

We construct a supersymmetric (1+1)-dimensional field theory involving extra derivatives and associated ghosts: the spectrum of the Hamiltonian is not bounded from below, neither from above. In spite of that, there is neither classical, nor…

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…

In this paper, the ghost-freeness of the higher derivative theory proposed by Hassan et al. in [Universe 1 (2015) 2, 92] is investigated. Hassan et al. believed the ghost-freeness of the higher derivative theory based on the analysis in the…

Generic higher derivative theories are believed to be fundamentally unphysical because they contain Ostrogradsky ghosts. We show that within complex classical mechanics it is possible to construct higher derivative theories that circumvent…

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…

We study co-existence system of both bosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom. For such system with up to first derivatives in Lagrangian, we find Ostrogradsky-type ghost-free condition in Hamiltonian analysis, which is found to be the same…

The Ostrogradski ghost problem that appears in higher derivative system is considered for systems with constraints. A prescription for removal of the ghost creating momenta is described based on the Dirac's constraint analysis. It is shown…

Ostrogradsky theorem states that Hamiltonian is unbounded when Euler-Lagrange equations are higher than second-order differential equations under the nondegeneracy assumption. Since higher-order nondegenerate Lagrangian can be always recast…

We analyze the unitarity properties of higher derivative quantum field theories which are free of ghosts and ultraviolet singularities. We point out that in spite of the absence of ghosts most of these theories are not unitary. This result…

The Ostrogradsky theorem implies that higher-derivative terms of a single mechanical variable are either trivial or lead to additional, ghost-like degrees of freedom. In this letter we systematically investigate how the introduction of…

We review the fate of the Ostrogradsky ghost in higher-order theories. We start by recalling the original Ostrogradsky theorem and illustrate, in the context of classical mechanics, how higher-derivatives Lagrangians lead to unbounded…

Interacting theories with higher derivatives involve ghosts. They correspond to instabilities that display themselves at the classical level. We notice that comparatively "benign" mechanical higher-derivative systems exist where the…

We propose an algebraic analysis using a 3+1 decomposition to identify conditions for a clever cancellation of the higher derivatives, which plagued the theory with Ostrogradsky ghosts, by exploiting some existing degeneracy in the…

We investigate three-form gauge theories with higher derivative interactions and their supersymmetric extensions in four space-time dimensions. For the bosonic three-form gauge theories, we show that derivatives on the field strength of the…

Contrary to common belief, it is shown that theories whose field equations are higher than second order in derivatives need not be stricken with ghosts. In particular, the prototypical fourth-order derivative Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator model…