Reparametrization invariant Lagrangian theories with higher derivatives are considered. We investigate the geometric structures behind these theories and construct the Hamiltonian formalism in a geometric way. The Legendre transformation which corresponds to the transition from the Lagrangian formalism to the Hamiltonian formalism is non-trivial in this case. The resulting phase bundle, i.e. the image of the Legendre transformation, is a submanifold of some cotangent bundle. We show that in our construction it is always odd-dimensional. Therefore the canonical symplectic two-form from the ambient cotangent bundle generates on the phase bundle a field of the null-directions of its restriction. It is shown that the integral lines of this field project directly to the extremals of the action on the configuration manifold. Therefore this naturally arising field is what is called the Hamilton field. We also express the corresponding Hamilton equations through the generilized Nambu bracket.
Recently introduced reparametrization mode operators in CFTs have been shown to govern stress tensor interactions $via$ the shadow operator formalism and seem to govern the effective dynamics of chaotic systems. We initiate a study of Ward identities of reparametrization mode operators $i.e.$ how two dimensional CFT Ward identities govern the behaviour of insertions of reparametrization modes $ε$ in correlation functions: $\langleεεϕϕ\rangle$. We find that in the semi-classical limit of large $c$ they dictate the leading $\mathcal{O}(c^{-1})$ behaviour. While for the $4$pt function this reprod…
We study two novel approaches to efficiently encoding universal constraints imposed by conformal symmetry, and describe applications to quantum chaos in higher dimensional CFTs. The first approach consists of a reformulation of the shadow operator formalism and kinematic space techniques. We observe that the shadow operator associated with the stress tensor (or other conserved currents) can be written as the descendant of a field ${\cal E}$ with negative dimension. Computations of stress tensor contributions to conformal blocks can be systematically organized in terms of the "soft mode" ${\cal…
We give a brief summary of the formalism of invariants in general scalar-tensor and multiscalar-tensor gravities without derivative couplings. By rescaling of the metric and reparametrization of the scalar fields, the theory can be presented in different conformal frames and parametrizations. Due to this freedom in transformations, the scalar fields themselves do not carry independent physical meaning (in a generic parametrization). However, there are functions of the scalar fields and their derivatives which remain invariant under the transformations, providing a set of physical variables for…
We consider constrained multi-Hamiltonian formulation for the extended Chern-Simons theory with higher derivatives of arbitrary finite order. The order $n$ extension of the theory admits $(n-1)$-parametric series of conserved tensors. The $00$-component of any representative of the series can be chosen as Hamiltonian. The theory admits a series of Hamiltonian formulations, including the canonical Ostrogradski formulation. The Hamiltonian formulations with different Hamiltonians are not connected by canonical transformations. Also, we demonstrate the inclusion of stable interactions with charge…
Gravitational light deflection is known as one of three classical tests of general relativity and the angle of deflection may be computed explicitly using approximate or exact solutions describing the gravitational force generated from a point mass. In various generalized gravity theories, however, such explicit determination is often impossible due to the difficulty with obtaining an exact expression for the deflection angle. In this work, we present some highly effective globally convergent iterative methods to determine the angle of semiclassical gravitational deflection in higher- and infi…
Theories with an infinite number of derivatives are described by non-local Lagrangians for which the standard Hamiltonian formalism cannot be applied. Hamiltonians of special types of non-local theories can be constructed by means of the (1+1)-dimensional Hamiltonian formalism. In this paper, we consider a simple scalar field model inspired by the infinite derivative gravity and study its reduced phase space by using this formalism. Assuming the expansion of the solutions in the coupling constant, we compute the perturbative Hamiltonian and the symplectic 2-form. We also discuss an example of …
In inflation with nonminimal derivative coupling there is not a conformal transformation to the Einstein frame where calculations are straightforward, and thus in order to extract inflationary observables one needs to perform a detailed and lengthy perturbation investigation. In this work we bypass this problem by performing a Hamilton-Jacobi analysis, namely rewriting the cosmological equations considering the scalar field to be the time variable. We apply the method to two specific models, namely the power-law and the exponential cases, and for each model we calculate various observables suc…
A way to obtain a correspondence between the first order and second order formalism is studied. By introducing a Lagrange multiplier coupled to the covariant derivative of the metric, a metricity constraint is implemented. The new contributions which comes from the variation of the Lagrange multiplier transforms the field equations from the first order to the second order formalism, yet the action is formulated in the first order. In this way all the higher derivatives terms in the second order formalism appear as derivatives of the Lagrange multiplier. Using the same method for breaking metri…
We present a systematic prescription for calculating cosmological correlation functions for models with derivative interactions through the wavefunction of the universe and compare this result with the "in-in" formalism -- canonical approach. The key step in this procedure is to perform the path integral over conjugate momenta after which a straightforward generalisation of Feynman's Rules can be applied. We show that this integral recovers the classical action plus some additional divergent contributions which are necessary to cancel other divergences that arise due to loop diagrams involving…
The focus of the thesis is to obtain a universal formalism to evaluate the perturbations during inflation at all orders that can be applied to any theory of gravity and matter source in the early universe. We first look at the equivalence of two approaches --- action and order-by-order gravity equation approach --- for cosmological perturbation theory, and establish that both lead to equivalent results for any gravity models at any order of perturbations. We then focus on Hamiltonian formalism that has not been studied extensively in the literature. We provide a generalized Hamiltonian approac…
We study static kink configurations in a type of two-dimensional higher derivative scalar field theory whose Lagrangian contains second-order derivative terms of the field. The linear fluctuation around arbitrary static kink solutions is analyzed. We find that, the linear spectrum can be described by a supersymmetric quantum mechanics problem, and the criteria for stable static solutions can be given analytically. We also construct a superpotential formalism for finding analytical static kink solutions. Using this formalism we first reproduce some existed solutions and then offer a new solutio…
In this work we apply the Fradkin-Vasiliev formalism based on the frame-like gauge invariant description of the massive and massless spin 2 to the construction of the cubic interactions vertices for massive spin 2 self-interaction as well as its gravitational interaction. In the first case we show that the vertex can be reduced (by field redefinitions) to the set of the trivially gauge invariant terms. There are four such terms which are not equivalent om-shell and do not contain more than four derivatives. Moreover, one their particular combination reproduces the minimal (with no more than tw…
The aim of this work is to discuss some aspects of the reduction of order formalism in the context of the Fadeev-Jackiw symplectic formalism, both at the classical and the quantum level. We start by reviewing the symplectic analysis in a regular theory (a higher derivative massless scalar theory), both using the Ostrogradsky prescription and also by reducing the order of the Lagrangian with an auxiliary field, showing the equivalence of these two approaches. The interpretation of the degrees of freedom is discussed in some detail. Finally, we perform the similar analysis in a singular higher d…
