We show that cosmological acceleration, Dark Energy (DE) effect is a consequence of the zero rest mass, conformal non-invariance of gravitons, and 1-loop finiteness of quantum gravity (QG). The effect is due to graviton-ghost condensates arising from the interference of quantum coherent states. The theory is constructed as follows: Faddeev-Popov-De Witt gauged path integral -> factorization of classical and quantum variables -> transition to the 1-loop approximation -> choice of ghost sector, satisfying 1-loop finiteness of the theory off the mass shell. The Bogolyubov-Born-Green-Kirckwood-Yvon (BBGKY) chain for the spectral function of gravitons renormalized by ghosts is used to build a theory of gravitons in the isotropic Universe. We found three exact solutions of the equations that describe virtual graviton and ghost condensates as well as condensates of instanton fluctuations. Exact solutions correspond to various condensates with different graviton-ghost compositions. The formalism of the BBGKY chain takes into account the contribution of non-relativistic matter in the formation of a common self-consistent gravitational field. It is shown that the era of non-relativistic matter dominance must be replaced by an era of dominance of graviton-ghost condensate. Pre-asymptotic state of DE is a condensate of virtual gravitons and ghosts with a constant conformal wavelength. The asymptotic state predicted by the theory is a graviton-ghost condensate of constant physical wavelength in the De Sitter space. Such DE phenomenon is presented in the form of the model that interpolates the exact solutions of equations of 1-loop QG. Processing of observational DE data extracted from the Hubble diagram for supernovae SNIa suggests that the graviton-ghost condensate is an adequate variable component of DE.
We discuss a special class of quantum gravity phenomena that occur on the scale of the Universe as a whole at any stage of its evolution. These phenomena are a direct consequence of the zero rest mass of gravitons, conformal non-invariance of the graviton field, and one-loop finiteness of quantum gravity. The effects are due to graviton-ghost condensates arising from the interference of quantum coherent states. Each of coherent states is a state of gravitons and ghosts of a wavelength of the order of the horizon scale and of different occupation numbers. The state vector of the Universe is a c…
Using novel nonlinear kinetic terms for gravitons, a large class of bi-gravity models were constructed, which are potentially free of the Boulware-Deser (BD) ghost. In this work, we derive their Hamiltonians using the ADM formalism, and verify that the BD ghost is eliminated by additional constraints. The general Hamiltonian structure is analogous to that of the other class of bi-gravity models free of the BD ghost.
In this letter we point out that the massive gravity theory with a graviton ghost mode in de Sitter background cannot possess a de Sitter invariant vacuum state. In order to avoid a negative norm state, we must associate the creation operator of the ghost mode with a negative-energy mode function instead of a positive-energy one as the mode function. Namely, we have to adopt a different procedure of quantization for a ghost. When a theory has a symmetry mixing a ghost mode with ordinary non-ghost modes, the choice of a ghost mode is not unique. However, quantization of a ghost is impossible wi…
If the kinetic interactions of a Lorentz-invariant massive graviton are Einstein-Hilbert, then the only possible potential terms free from the Boulware-Deser ghost are those of de Rham, Gabadadze and Tolley (dRGT). We point out there are other possibilities if the kinetic terms are not required to be Einstein-Hilbert. We construct pseudo-linear ghost-free potentials, terms that derive in a natural way from the linear theory. The simplicity of this approach allows us to construct diffeomorphism non-invariant higher-derivative interaction terms that do not introduce ghosts. We conjecture that th…
We study the spectrum of gravitational perturbations about a vacuum de Sitter brane with the induced 4D Einstein-Hilbert term, in a 5D Minkowski spacetime (DGP model). We consider solutions that include a self-accelerating univese, where the accelerating expansion of the universe is realized without introducing a cosmological constant on the brane. The mass of the discrete mode for the spin-2 graviton is calculated for various $Hr_c$, where $H$ is the Hubble parameter and $r_c$ is the cross-over scale determined by the ratio between the 5D Newton constant and the 4D Newton constant. We show th…
Using the instanton representation method, we re-construct graviton solutions about DeSitter spacetime. We have used this example as a testing arena to expose the internal structure of the method and to establish that it works for known solutions. This paper is a precursor for its application to the construction of new General Relativity solutions in future work.
We show that the ghost degrees of freedom of Einstein gravity with a Weyl term can be eliminated by a simple mechanism that invokes local Lorentz symmetry breaking. We demonstrate how the mechanism works in a cosmological setting. The presence of the Weyl term forces a redefinition of the quantum vacuum state of the tensor perturbations. As a consequence the amplitude of their spectrum blows up when the Lorentz-violating scale becomes comparable to the Hubble radius. Such a behaviour is in sharp contrast to what happens in standard Weyl gravity where the gravitational ghosts smoothly damp out …
Graviton propagation in ghost-free massive gravity
Abdus Salam Centre for Theoretical Physics, Imperial College（帝国理工学院阿卜杜斯·萨拉姆理论物理中心）；Departament de Física Quàntica i Astrofísica and Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICC), Universitat de Barcelona（巴塞罗那大学量子天体物理学系及宇宙科学研究所）
Within the theory of the ghost-free bigravity, we present the most general cosmological solution for which the physical metric is homogeneous and isotropic, while the second metric is inhomogeneous. The solution includes a matter source and exists for any values of the theory parameters. The physical metric describes a universe with the late time acceleration due to the effective cosmological term mimicked by the graviton mass. When perturbed, this universe should rest approximately homogeneous and isotropic in space regions small compared to the graviton Compton length. In the limit where the…
In theories with a hidden ghost sector that couples to visible matter through gravity only, empty space can decay into ghosts and ordinary matter by graviton exchange. Perturbatively, such processes can be very slow provided that the gravity sector violates Lorentz invariance above some cut-off scale. Here, we investigate non-perturbative decay processes involving ghosts, such as the spontaneous creation of self-gravitating lumps of ghost matter, as well as pairs of Bondi dipoles (i.e., lumps of ghost matter chasing after positive energy objects). We find the corresponding instantons and calcu…
This article derives and presents the Feynman rules for (effective) Quantum General Relativity coupled to the Standard Model for any vertex valence and with general gauge parameter $ζ$. The results are worked out for the metric decomposition $g_{μν} = η_{μν} + \varkappa h_{μν}$, a linearized de Donder gauge fixing and four dimensions of spacetime. To this end, we calculate the Feynman rules for gravitons, graviton-ghosts and for the couplings of gravitons to scalars, spinors, gauge bosons and gauge ghosts.
The only known fully ghost-free and consistent Lorentz-invariant kinetic term for a graviton (or indeed for any spin-2 field) is the Einstein-Hilbert term. Here we propose and investigate a new family of candidate kinetic interactions and their extensions to derivative interactions involving several spin-2 fields. These new terms generically break diffeomorphism invariance(s) and as a result can lead to the propagation of 5 degrees of freedom for a single spin-2 field - analogous to ghost-free Massive Gravity. We discuss under what circumstances these new terms can be used to build healthy eff…
Special gravity refers to interacting theories of massless gravitons in Minkowski space-time which are invariant under the abelian gauge invariance $h_{ab}\rightarrow h_{ab}+\partial_{(a}χ_{b)}$ only. In this article we determine the most general form of special gravity free of Ostrogradski ghosts, meaning its equation of motion is of at most second order. Together with the recent works, this result could be helpful in formulating proofs of General Relativity as the unique physical theory of self-interacting massless gravitons. We also study how to construct gauge invariant couplings to matter…
We obtain the fully covariant linearized field equations for the metric perturbation in the de Rham-Gabadadze-Tolley (dRGT) ghost free massive gravities. For a subset of these theories, we show that the non dynamical metric that appears in the dRGT setup can be completely eliminated leading to the theory of a massive graviton moving in a single metric. This has a mass term which contains non trivial contributions of the space-time curvature. We show further how 5 covariant constraints can be obtained including one which leads to the tracelessness of the graviton on flat space-time and removes …
We propose a simple higher-derivative braneworld gravity model which contains a stable accelerating branch, in the absence of cosmological constant or potential, that can be used to describe the late time cosmic acceleration. This model has similar qualitative features to that of Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati, such as the recovery of four-dimensional gravity at subhorizon scales, but unlike that case, the graviton zero mode is massless and there are no linearized instabilities. The acceleration rather is driven by bulk gravity in the form of a spin-two ghost condensate. We show that this model can b…
The S-matrix, its unitarity and the graviton self-energy at the one-loop level are discussed on the basis of quantum Yang-Mills gravity with the translational gauge symmetry in flat space-time. The unitarity and gauge invariance of the S-matrix in a class of gauge conditions is preserved by massless ghost vector particles, called `Feynman-DeWitt-Mandelstam' (FDM) ghosts, in quantum Yang-Mills gravity. Using dimensional regularization, the graviton self-energy are explicitly calculated with a general gauge condition. The resultant divergence of graviton self-energy at the one-loop level resembl…
We study the origin of dark matter based on the ghost-free bigravity theory with twin matter fluids. The present cosmic acceleration can be explained by the existence of graviton mass, while dark matter is required in several cosmological situations [the galactic missing mass, the cosmic structure formation and the standard big-bang scenario (the cosmological nucleosynthesis vs the CMB observation)]. Assuming that the Compton wavelength of the massive graviton is shorter than a galactic scale, we show the bigravity theory can explain dark matter by twin matter fluid as well as the cosmic accel…
We study Lorentzian wormholes in the ghost-free bigravity theory described by two metrics, g and f. Wormholes can exist if only the null energy condition is violated, which happens naturally in the bigravity theory since the graviton energy-momentum tensors do not apriori fulfill any energy conditions. As a result, the field equations admit solutions describing wormholes whose throat size is typically of the order of the inverse graviton mass. Hence, they are as large as the universe, so that in principle we might all live in a giant wormhole. The wormholes can be of two different types that w…
We present the detailed derivation of the recently announced most general cosmological solution with homogeneous and isotropic metric in the ghost-free massive gravity theory. We use the standard parametrization of the theory in terms of the matrix square root, and then show how the same results are recovered within the tetrad formulation. The solution obtained includes the matter source, it exists for generic values of the theory parameters, and it describes a universe that can be spatially open, closed, or flat, and that shows the late time acceleration due to the effective cosmological term…
A Higgs mechanism for gravity is presented, where four scalars with global Lorentz symmetry are employed. We show that in the broken symmetry phase a graviton absorbs all scalars and become massive spin 2 particle with five degrees of freedom. The resulting theory is unitary and free of ghosts.
4-derivative gravity provides a renormalizable theory of quantum gravity at the price of introducing a physical ghost, which could admit a sensible positive-energy quantization. To understand its physics, we compute ghost-mediated scatterings among matter particles at tree-level, finding a new power-like infra-red enhancement typical of 4-derivative theories, that we dub '$ghostrahlung$'. Super-Planckian scatterings get downgraded to Planckian by radiating hard gravitons and ghosts, which are weakly coupled and carry away the energy.
It has recently been shown that the graviton can consistently gain a constant mass without introducing the Boulware-Deser ghost. We propose a gravity model where the graviton mass is set by a scalar field and prove that this model is free of the Boulware-Deser ghost by analyzing its constraint system and showing that two constraints arise. We also initiate the study of the model's cosmic background evolution and tentatively discuss possible cosmological implications of this model. In particular, we consider a simple scenario where the scalar field setting the graviton mass is identified with t…
We consider the effect of quantum interactions on Pauli-Fierz massive gravity. With generic graviton cubic interactions, we observe that the 1-loop counterterms do not conform to the tree level structure of Pauli-Fierz action, resulting in the reappearance of the 6th mode ghost. Then to explore the quantum effects to the full extent, we calculate the resummed graviton propagator with an arbitrary interaction and analyze its complete structure, from which a minimal condition for the absence of the ghost is obtained.
We confirm the recent claims that, in the infrared limit of Hořava-Lifshitz gravity, the scalar graviton becomes a ghost if the sound speed squared is positive on the flat de Sitter and Minkowski background. In order to avoid the ghost and tame the instability, the sound speed squared should be negative and very small, which means that the flow parameter $λ$ should be very close to its General Relativity (GR) value. We calculate the cubic interactions for the scalar graviton which are shown to have a similar structure with those of the curvature perturbation in k-inflation models. The higher o…
We study the stability of a spherically symmetric perturbation around the flat Friedmann-Lema$\hatı$tre-Robertson-Walker spacetime in the ghost-free bigravity theory, retaining nonlinearities of the helicity-$0$ mode of the massive graviton. It has been known that, when the graviton mass is smaller than the Hubble parameter, homogeneous and isotropic spacetimes suffer from the Higuchi-type ghost or the gradient instability against the linear perturbation in the bigravity. Hence, the bigravity theory has no healthy massless limit for cosmological solutions at linear level. In this paper we show…
The first mathematically consistent exact equations of quantum gravity in the Heisenberg representation and Hamilton gauge are obtained. It is shown that the path integral over the canonical variables in the Hamilton gauge is mathematically equivalent to the operator equations of quantum theory of gravity with canonical rules of quantization of the gravitational and ghost fields. In its operator formulation, the theory can be used to calculate the graviton S-matrix as well as to describe the quantum evolution of macroscopic system of gravitons in the non-stationary Universe or in the vicinity …
In this paper, we demonstrate that the Wald's entropy for any spherically symmetric blackhole within an infinite derivative theory of gravity is determined solely by the area law. Thus, the infrared behaviour of gravity is captured by the Einstein-Hilbert term, provided that the massless graviton remains the only propagating degree of freedom in the spacetime.
We present a theory of ghost-free massive gravity where the mass of the graviton is generated through the Brout-Englert-Higgs (BEH) mechanism and one of the four scalar fields used is that of mimetic gravity. The mass term is not of the Fierz-Pauli type and the constraint eliminates the Boulware-Deser ghost which is absent to all orders. We perform a detailed analysis using the methods of cosmological perturbation theory and consider quantum fluctuations of the degrees of freedom of massive graviton and mimetic matter. It is shown that for three of the degrees of freedom of the graviton of mas…
We analyze 2+1-dimensional gravity in the framework of quantum gauge theory. We find that Einstein gravity has a trivial physical subspace which reflects the fact that the classical solution in empty space is flat. Therefore we study massive gravity which is not trivial. In the limit of vanishing graviton mass we obtain a non-trivial massless theory different from Einstein gravity. We derive the interaction from descent equations and obtain the cosmological topologically massive gravity. However, in addition to Einstein and Chern-Simons coupling we need coupling to fermionic ghost and anti-gho…
We show that the strong self-interaction of the scalar polarization of a massive graviton can be understood in terms of the propagation of an extra ghost-like degree of freedom, thus relating strong coupling to the sixth degree of freedom discussed by Boulware and Deser in their Hamiltonian analysis of massive gravity. This enables one to understand the Vainshtein recovery of solutions of massless gravity as being due to the effect of the exchange of this ghost which gets frozen at distances larger than the Vainshtein radius. Inside this region, we can trust the two-field Lagrangian perturbati…
We discuss graviton oscillations based on the ghost free bi-gravity theory. We point out that this theory possesses a natural cosmological background solution which is very close to the case of general relativity. Furthermore, interesting parameter range of the graviton mass, which can be explored by the observations of gravitational waves, is not at all excluded by the constraint from the solar system tests. Therefore the graviton oscillation with possible inverse chirp signal would be an interesting scientific target of KAGRA, adv LIGO, adv Virgo and GEO.
We study coherently oscillating massive gravitons in the ghost-free bigravity theory. This coherent field can be interpreted as a condensate of the massive gravitons. We first define the effective energy-momentum tensor of the coherent massive gravitons in a curved spacetime. We then study the background dynamics of the universe and the cosmic structure formation including the effects of the coherent massive gravitons. We find that the condensate of the massive graviton behaves as a dark matter component of the universe. From the geometrical point of view the condensate is regarded as a spacet…
We show that the reformulation of the de Rham-Gabadadze-Tolley massive gravity theory using vielbeins leads to a very simple and covariant way to count constraints, and hence degrees of freedom. Our method singles out a subset of theories, in the de Rham-Gabadadze-Tolley family, where an extra constraint, needed to eliminate the Boulware Deser ghost, is easily seen to appear. As a side result, we also introduce a new method, different from the Stuckelberg trick, to extract kinetic terms for the polarizations propagating in addition to those of the massless graviton.
In this paper, we investigate three important issues: stability, ghost and strong coupling, in the Horava-Melby-Thompson setup of the Horava-Lifshitz theory with $λ\not= 1$, generalized recently by da Silva. We first develop the general linear scalar perturbations of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe with arbitrary spatial curvature, and find that an immediate by-product of the setup is that, in all the inflationary models described by a scalar field, the FRW universe is necessarily flat. Applying them to the case of the Minkowski background, we find that it is stable, and, similar…
Form factors constitute the key building block when organising the gravitational dynamics in terms of a curvature expansion. They generalise the concept of momentum-dependent couplings to curved spacetime. Moreover, they may capture modifications of the gravitational interactions at high energy scales in a non-perturbative way. We briefly review the role of form factors in various quantum gravity programmes with special emphasis on non-local, ghost-free gravity and asymptotically safe gravity. In this context, we introduce a quantum gravity motivated scalar toy model, which demonstrates that L…
We extend the four-dimensional de Rham-Gabadadze-Tolley (dRGT) massive gravity model to a general scalar massive-tensor theory in arbitrary dimensions, coupling a dRGT massive graviton to multiple scalars and allowing for generic kinetic and mass matrix mixing between the massive graviton and the scalars, and derive its Hamiltonian formulation and associated constraint system. When passing to the Hamiltonian formulation, two different sectors arise: a general sector and a special sector. Although obtained via different ways, there are two second class constraints in either of the two sectors, …
We review some recent work by Carone, Erlich and Vaman on composite gravitons in metric-independent quantum field theories, with the aim of clarifying a number of basic issues. Focusing on a theory of scalar fields presented previously in the literature, we clarify the meaning of the tunings required to obtain a massless graviton. We argue that this formulation can be interpreted as the massless limit of a theory of massive composite gravitons in which the graviton mass term is not of Pauli-Fierz form. We then suggest closely related theories that can be defined without such a limiting procedu…
We discuss how the incorporation of a cosmological constant affects the perturbative quantization of (effective) Quantum General Relativity. To this end, we derive the gravitational Slavnov--Taylor identities and appropriate renormalization conditions for the cosmological constant. Additionally, we calculate the corresponding Feynman rules for any vertex valence and with general gauge parameter. Furthermore, we provide the BRST setup and generate the Faddeev--Popov ghost and the symmetric ghost via a gauge fixing fermion and a gauge fixing boson, respectively. Finally, we study the transversal…
We show that higher spin systems specific to cosmological spaces are subject to the same problems as models with Poincar'e limits. In particular, we analyse partially massless (PM) spin 2 and find that both its gravitational coupling and nonlinear extensions suffer from the usual [background- and self-coupling] difficulties: Consistent free field propagation does not extend beyond background Einstein geometries. Then, using conformal Weyl gravity (CG), which consists of relative ghost PM and graviton excitations, we find that avoiding graviton-ghosts restricts CG-generated PM self-couplings to…
We study SO(4) BF theory plus a general quadratic potential, which describes a bi- metric theory of gravity. We identify the profile of the potential leading to a Pauli-Fierz mass term for the massive graviton, thereby avoiding the linearized ghost. We include the Immirzi parameter in our analysis, and find that the mass of the second graviton depends on it. At the non-perturbative level, we find a situation similar to genuine bi-gravities: even choosing the Pauli-Fierz mass term, the ghost mode propagates through the interactions. We present some simple potentials leading to two and three deg…
We investigate the non-Pauli-Fierz(nPF) theory, a linearized massive gravity with a generic graviton mass term, which has been ignored due to a ghost in its spectrum and the resultant loss of unitarity. We first show that it is possible to use the Lee-Wick mechanism, a unitarization through the decay of a ghost, in order to handle the sixth mode ghost of nPF, and then check for the quantum consistency. Once proven to be consistent, nPF could become a viable candidate for a large distance modification of gravity, because it naturally solves the intrinsic problems that most dark energy/modified …
Curvature squared terms, when added to the Einstein-Hilbert action and treated non-perturbatively, generically result in the propagation of an extra massive scalar state and an extra massive spin-2 ghost state. Using the Stueckelberg trick, we study the high-energy limit in which the mass of the spin-2 state is taken to zero, with strong- coupling scales held fixed. The Stueckelberg approach makes transparent the interplay between the ghost graviton and the healthy graviton which allows the theory to evade the usual lambda-3 strong coupling scale of massive gravity and become renormalizable, a…
It is proved that no wormholes can be formed in viable scalar-tensor models of dark energy admitting its phantom-like ($w < -1$) behaviour in cosmology, even in the presence of electric or magnetic fields, if the non-minimal coupling function $f(Φ)$ is everywhere positive and the scalar field $Φ$ itself is not a ghost. Some special static, spherically symmetric wormhole solutions may exist if $f(Φ)$ is allowed to reach zero or to become negative, so that the effective gravitational constant becomes negative in some region making the graviton a ghost. If $f$ remains non-negative, such solutions…
We consider some flat space theories for spin 2 gravitons, with less invariance than full diffeomorphisms. For the massless case, classical stability and absence of ghosts require invariance under transverse diffeomorphisms (TDiff). Generic TDiff invariant theories contain a propagating scalar, which disappears if the symmetry is enhanced in one of two ways. One possibility is to consider full diffeomorphisms (Diff). The other (which we denote WTDiff) adds a Weyl symmetry, by which the Lagrangian becomes independent of the trace. The first possibility corresponds to General Relativity, whereas…
Coupling the galileons to a curved background has been a tradeoff between maintaining second order equations of motion, maintaining the galilean shift symmetries, and allowing the background metric to be dynamical. We propose a construction which can achieve all three for a novel class of galilean invariant models, by coupling a scalar with the galilean symmetry to a massive graviton. This generalizes the brane construction for galileons, by adding to the brane a dynamical metric, (non-universally) interacting with the galileon field. Alternatively, it can be thought of as an extension of the …
Massive gravity has seen a resurgence of interest due to recent progress which has overcome its traditional problems, yielding an avenue for addressing important open questions such as the cosmological constant naturalness problem. The possibility of a massive graviton has been studied on and off for the past 70 years. During this time, curiosities such as the vDVZ discontinuity and the Boulware-Deser ghost were uncovered. We re-derive these results in a pedagogical manner, and develop the Stükelberg formalism to discuss them from the modern effective field theory viewpoint. We review recent p…
The Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) transformations and equations of motion of a gravity-two-form-dilaton system are derived from the product of two Yang-Mills theories in a BRST covariant form, to linear approximation. The inclusion of ghost fields facilitates the separation of the graviton and dilaton. The gravitational gauge fixing term is uniquely determined by those of the Yang-Mills factors which can be freely chosen. Moreover, the resulting gravity-two-form-dilaton Lagrangian is anti-BRST invariant and the BRST and anti-BRST charges anti commute as a direct consequence of the formalism…
We construct Born-Infeld (BI) type gravity theories which describe tree-level unitary (non-ghost and non-tachyonic) massless spin-2 modes around their maximally symmetric vacua in four dimensions. Building unitary BI actions around flat vacuum is straightforward; but, this is a complicated task around (anti)-de Sitter backgrounds. In this work, we solve the issue and give details of constructing perturbatively viable determinantal BI theories. It is interesting that the Gauss-Bonnet combination, which is a total derivative in four dimensions, plays an important role in the construction of viab…
We suggest a class of generally covariant ghost-free nonlocal gravity models generating de Sitter or Anti-de Sitter background with an arbitrary value of the effective cosmological constant and featuring a mechanism of dark matter simulation. These models interpolate between the general relativistic phase on a flat spacetime background and their strongly coupled infrared (Anti)-de Sitter phase with two propagating massless graviton modes.
This thesis consists of three parts. In the first part we review the quantization of Yang-Mills theories and perturbative quantum gravity in curved spacetime. In the second part we calculate the Feynman propagators of the Faddeev-Popov ghosts for Yang-Mills theories and perturbative quantum gravity in the covariant gauge. In the third part we investigate the physical equivalence of covariant Wightman graviton two-point function with the physical graviton two-point function. The Feynman propagators of the Faddeev-Popov ghosts for Yang-Mills theories and perturbative quantum gravity in the covar…
We study the effects of gravitationally-driven decoherence on tunneling processes associated with false vacuum decays, such as the Coleman--De~Luccia instanton. We compute the thermal graviton-induced decoherence rate for a wave function describing a perfect fluid of nonzero energy density in a finite region. When the effective cosmological constant is positive, the thermal graviton background sourced by a de Sitter horizon provides an unavoidable decoherence effect, which may have important consequences for tunneling processes in cosmological history. We discuss generalizations and consequenc…
A set of novel derivative terms for spin-2 fields are proposed. They are the wedge products of curvature two-forms and vielbeins. In this work, we investigate the properties of novel two-derivative terms in the context of bi-gravity. Based on a minisuperspace analysis, we identify a large class of bi-gravity models where the Boulware-Deser ghost could be absent. We give a new perspective that Weyl Gravity and New Massive Gravity belong to this class of bi-gravity models involving novel derivative terms. In addition, we discuss the UV cut-off scales, dynamical symmetric conditions and novel hig…
Gravity can be embedded into a renormalizable theory by means of adding quadratic in curvature terms. However, this at first leads to the presence of the Weyl ghost. It is possible to get rid of this ghost if the locality assumption is weakened and the propagator of the graviton is represented by an entire function of the d'Alembertian operator without new poles and zeros. Models of this type admit a cosmological solution describing the $R^2$, or Starobinsky, inflation. We study graviton production after inflation in this model and show that it is negligible despite the presence of the higher …
We give a detailed analysis of the particle spectrum and the perturbative unitarity of the recently introduced Weyl-invariant version of the new massive gravity in 2+1 dimensions. By computing the action up to second order in the fluctuations of the metric, the gauge and the scalar fields around the anti-de Sitter (AdS) and flat vacua, we find that the theory describes unitary (tachyon and ghost-free) massive spin-2, massive (or massless) spin-1 and massless spin-0 excitations for certain ranges of the dimensionless parameters. The theory is not unitary in de Sitter space. Scale invariance is …
We study black holes in the recently proposed ghost-free theory with two gravitons, one of which is massive and another is massless. These black holes possess a regular event horizon which is common for both metrics and has the same values of the surface gravity and Hawking temperature with respect to each metric. The ratio of the event horizon radii measured by the two metrics is a free parameter that labels the solutions. We present a numerical evidence for their existence and find that they comprise several classes. Black holes within each class approach the same AdS-type asymptotic at infi…
It has been argued that black hole solutions become unavoidably time-dependent when the graviton has a mass. In this work we show that, if the apparent horizon of the black hole is a null surface with respect to a fiducial Minkowski reference metric, then the location of the horizon is necessarily time-independent, despite the dynamical metric possessing no time-like Killing vector. This result is non-perturbative and model-independent. We derive a second law of black hole mechanics for these black holes and determine their surface gravity. An additional assumption establishes a zeroth and a f…
It is proved that all thin-shell wormholes built from two identical regions of vacuum static, spherically symmetric space-times have a negative shell surface energy density in any scalar-tensor theory of gravity with a non-ghost massless scalar field and a non-ghost graviton.
We investigate the ultraviolet behaviour of quantum gravity within a functional renormalisation group approach. The present setup includes the full ghost and graviton propagators and, for the first time, the dynamical graviton three-point function. The latter gives access to the coupling of dynamical gravitons and makes the system minimally self-consistent. The resulting phase diagram confirms the asymptotic safety scenario in quantum gravity with a non-trivial UV fixed point. A well-defined Wilsonian block spinning requires locality of the flow in momentum space. This property is discussed in…
