Related papers: On the Algebra of Ghost Fields
The study of linear perturbation theory for general functions of the Ricci and Gauss-Bonnet scalars is done over an empty anisotropic universe, i.e. the Kasner-type background, in order to show that an anisotropic background in general has…
We disprove the widespread belief that higher order curvature theories of gravity in the metric-affine formalism are generally ghost-free. This is clarified by considering a sub-class of theories constructed only with the Ricci tensor and…
We study ghost distributions on supersymmetric spaces for the case of basic classical Lie superalgebras. We introduce the notion of interlaced pairs, which are those for which both $(\mathfrak{g},\mathfrak{k})$ and…
We present a new point of view on the quantization of the gravitational field, namely we use exclusively the quantum framework of the second quantization. More explicitly, we take as one-particle Hilbert space, $H_{graviton}$ the unitary…
We analyze the asymptotic symmetry of higher spin gravity with $M \times M$ matrix valued fields, which is given by rectangular W-algebras with su$(M)$ symmetry. The matrix valued extension is expected to be useful for the relation between…
Theories formulated in the arena of teleparallel geometries are generically plagued by ghost-like instabilities or other pathologies that are ultimately caused by the breaking of some symmetries. In this work, we construct a class of…
The intrinsic presence of ghosts in the symmetric teleparallel framework is elucidated. We illustrate our general arguments in $f(\mathbb{Q})$ theories by studying perturbations in the three inequivalent spatially flat cosmologies. Two of…
A new representation is found for the action of the recently suggested ghost-free nonlocal gravity models generating de Sitter or Anti-de Sitter background with an arbitrary value of the effective cosmological constant. This representation…
We introduce positive cones on algebras with involution. These allow us to prove analogues of Artin's solution to Hilbert's 17th problem, the Artin-Schreier theorem characterizing formally real fields, and to define signatures with respect…
Motivated by Freyd's famous unsolved problem in stable homotopy theory, the generating hypothesis for the stable module category of a finite group is the statement that if a map in the thick subcategory generated by the trivial…
Interactions in bimetric theory, which can describe gravity in the presence of an extra spin-2 field, are severely constrained by the requirement of the absence of the Boulware-Deser ghost instability. Recently an interesting new matter…
We give a basic introduction to ghost-free nonlinear theories involving massive spin-2 fields, focussing on bimetric theory. After motivating the construction of such models from field theoretical considerations, we review the linear…
We consider massless fields of arbitrary spin in de Sitter space. We introduce a spinor-helicity formalism, which encodes the field data on a cosmological horizon. These variables reduce the free S-matrix in an observer's causal patch, i.e.…
We study the classical and quantum $G$ extended superconformal algebras from the hamiltonian reduction of affine Lie superalgebras, with even subalgebras $G\oplus sl(2)$. At the classical level we obtain generic formulas for the Poisson…
We propose a framework for the free field construction of algebras of local observables which uses as an input the Bisognano-Wichmann relations and a representation of the Poincare' group on the one-particle Hilbert space. The abstract real…
We construct consistent theories of multiple interacting spin-2 fields in arbitrary spacetime dimensions using a vielbein formulation. We show that these theories have the additional primary constraints needed to eliminate potential ghosts,…
An inspection of the precise geometric constructions underlying fundamental notions in quantum gauge field theories sheds light on various aspects which tend to be obscured in the usual formalisms. Revising the notions of mutually…
Causality is studied in the covariant formulation of free string field theory (SFT). We find that, though the string field in the covariant formulation is a functional of the ghost coordinates as well as the space-time coordinate and the…
The first part of this paper extends the Doplicher-Haag-Roberts theory of superselection sectors to quantum field theory on arbitrary globally hyperbolic spacetimes. The statistics of a superselection sector may be defined as in flat…
We report the existence of a ghost- and tachyon-free sector in metric-affine theories of gravity, that is invariant under diffeomorphism and a particular abelian symmetry. In contrast with many studied cases in the literature, the…