We consider the version of Hořava gravity where "detailed balance" is consistently implemented, so as to limit the huge proliferation of couplings in the full theory and obtain healthy dynamics at low energy. Since a superpotential which is third-order in spatial derivatives is not sufficient to guarantee the power-counting renormalizability of the spin-0 graviton, one needs to go an order beyond in derivatives, building a superpotential up to fourth-order spatial derivatives. Here we perturb the action to quadratic order around flat space and show that the power-counting renormalizability of the spin-0 graviton is achieved only by setting to zero a specific coupling of the theory, while the spin-2 graviton is always power-counting renormalizable for any choice of the couplings. This result raises serious doubts about the use of detailed balance.
We study the renormalizability in theories of a self-interacting Lifshitz scalar field. We show that although the statement of power-counting is true at one-loop order, in generic cases where the scalar field is dimensionless, an infinite number of counter terms are involved in the renormalization procedure. This problem can be avoided by imposing symmetries, the shift symmetry in the present paper, which allow only a finite number of counter terms to appear. The symmetry requirements might have important implications for the construction of matter field sectors in the Horava-Lifshitz gravity.
It has been argued that Horava gravity needs to be extended to include terms that mix spatial and time derivatives in order avoid unacceptable violations of Lorentz invariance in the matter sector. In an earlier paper we have shown that including such mixed derivative terms generically leads to 4th instead of 6th order dispersion relations and this could be (naively) interpreted as a threat to renormalizability. We have also argued that power-counting renormalizability is not actually compromised, but instead the simplest power-counting renormalizable model is not unitary. In this paper we con…
We analyse the power counting renormalizability of scalar theory in Lifshitz spacetime in D+2 dimensions. We show the spectral dimension becomes 2+(D/z) (z is the critical exponent) after integrating out the radion field. We comment on the AdS/CFT correspondence, and on how to avoid the Lifshitz singularity by flowing into AdS spacetime in the infrared. We also comment on the quantum gravity in Lifshitz spacetime.
In an earlier article [arXiv:0902.0590 [hep-th], Phys. Rev D80 (2009) 025011], I discussed the potential benefits of allowing Lorentz symmetry breaking in quantum field theories. In particular I discussed the perturbative power-counting finiteness of the normal-ordered :P(phi)^{z>=d}_{d+1}: scalar quantum field theories, and sketched the implications for Horava's model of quantum gravity. In the current rather brief addendum, I will tidy up some dangling issues and fill out some of the technical details of the argument indicating the power-counting renormalizability of a z>=d variant of Horava…
It is well known that General Relativity cannot be considered under the standard of a perturbatively renormalizable quantum field theory, but asymptotic safety is taken into account as a possibility for the formulation of gravity as a non-perturbative renormalizable theory. Recently, the entropy argument has however stepped into the discussion claiming for a "no-go" to the asymptotic safety argument. In this paper, we present simple counter-examples, considering alternative theories of gravity, to the entropy argument as further indications, among others, on the possible flows in the assumptio…
We analyse the power counting renormalizability of the quantum field theory of Einstein or Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity in D+2 dimensional Lifshitz spacetime. We show the spectral dimension becomes 2+(D/z) at the UV region where z is the critical exponent. Since it is larger than two, the quantum theory of Einstein gravity is not power counting renormalizable. For the pure Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity, where Lifshitz spacetime is allowed only when the parameters are fine tuned, it happens that the graviton modes do not propagate and the quantum field theory is accidentally renormalizable whe…
We study tree-unitarity and renormalizability in Lifshitz-scaling theory, which is characterized by an anisotropic scaling between the spacial and time directions. Due to the lack of the Lorentz symmetry, the conditions for both unitarity and renormalizability are modified from those in relativistic theories. For renormalizability, the conventional discussion of the power counting conditions has to be extended. Because of the dependence of $S$-matrix elements on the reference frame, unitarity requires stronger conditions than those in relativistic cases. We show that the conditions for unitari…
We consider the relationship between renormalizability and unitarity at a Lifshitz point in d dimensions. We test tree unitarity for theories containing only scalars and fermions, and for pure gauge theory. In both cases, we find the requirement of weighted power-counting renormalizability is equivalent to that of tree unitarity.
We classify the physical observables in spontaneously broken nonlinearly realized gauge theories in the recently proposed loopwise expansion governed by the Weak Power-Counting (WPC) and the Local Functional Equation. The latter controls the non-trivial quantum deformation of the classical nonlinearly realized gauge symmetry, to all orders in the loop expansion. The Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formalism is used. We show that the dependence of the vertex functional on the Goldstone fields is obtained via a canonical transformation w.r.t. the BV bracket associated with the BRST symmetry of the model…
The purpose of this work is to present a model for 3D massive gravity with topological and higher-derivative terms. Causality and unitarity are discussed at tree-level. Power-counting renormalizability is also contemplated.
Horava gravity has been constructed so as to exhibit anisotropic scaling in the ultraviolet, as this renders the theory power-counting renormalizable. However, when coupled to matter, the theory has been shown to suffer from quadratic divergences. A way to cure these divergences is to add terms with both time and space derivatives. We consider this extended version of the theory in detail. We perform a perturbative analysis that includes all modes, determine the propagators and discuss how including mixed-derivative terms affects them. We also consider the Lifshitz scalar with mixed-derivative…
We investigate some classical and quantum aspects of a general class of higher derivative theories of gravity. We propose a generalized version of the so-called Teyssandier gauge condition and we investigative its implications on the linearized field equations. An exhaustive investigation on the particle spectra is done, including a discussion on the appearance of ghost-like particles. We investigate the UV properties and we determine the power-counting renormalizability of the theory. Finally we probe a conjecture which relates renormalizability with the cancellation of Newtonian singularitie…
Following the same steps made for a scalar field in a parallel publication, we propose a class of perturbative theories of quantum gravity based on fractional operators, where the kinetic operator of the graviton is either made of fractional derivatives or a covariant fractional d'Alembertian. The classical action for each theory is constructed and the equations of motion are derived. Unitarity and renormalizability of theories with a fractional d'Alembertian are also considered. We argue that unitarity and power-counting renormalizability never coexist, although in some cases one-loop unitary…
We present a Lorentz gauge theory of gravity in which the metric is not dynamical. Spherically symmetric weak field solutions are studied. We show that this solution contains the Schwarzschild spacetime at least to the first order of perturbation. Next, we present a special case of the theory. It is shown that the Schwarzschild metric is now an exact solution. Moreover, we show that the de Sitter space is an exact vacuum solution and as a result the theory is able to explain the expansion of the universe with no need for a dark energy. Within this special case, quantization of the theory is al…
In this work we study a modified theory of gravity that contains up to fourth order spatial derivatives as a model for the Horava-Lifshitz gravity. The propagator is evaluated and, as a result, it is obtained one extra pole corresponding to a spin two nonrelativistic massless particle, an extra term which jeopardizes renormalizability, besides the unexpected general relativity unmodified propagator. Then, unitarity is proved at the tree-level, where the general relativity pole has shown to have no dynamics, remaining only the two degrees of freedom of the new pole. Next, the nonrelativistic ef…
We study the renormalization of a general field theory on the 2-sphere with tensorial interaction and gauge invariance under the diagonal action of SU(2). We derive the power counting for arbitrary dimension d. For the case d=4, we prove perturbative renormalizability to all orders via multi-scale analysis, study both the renormalised and effective perturbation series, and establish the asymptotic freedom of the model. We also outline a general power counting for the homogeneous space SO(D)/SO(D-1), of direct interest for quantum gravity models in general dimensions, and point out the obstruct…
An anisotropic model describing gravity--vector gauge coupling at all energy scales is presented. The starting point is the 4+1 dimensional non--projectable Hořava--Lifshitz gravity theory subject to a geometrical restriction. Renormalizability arguments require all possible interactions in the potential up to terms with $z=4$ spatial derivatives on the geometrical tensor fields: the Riemann and Weyl tensors. The latter being necessary on a 4+1 dimensional formulation. The dimensional reduction to 3+1 dimensions give rise to a model invariant under {foliation--preserving diffeomorphisms} (FDif…
We define a modified dimensional-regularization technique that overcomes several difficulties of the ordinary technique, and is specially designed to work efficiently in chiral and parity violating quantum field theories, in arbitrary dimensions greater than 2. When the dimension of spacetime is continued to complex values, spinors, vectors and tensors keep the components they have in the physical dimension, therefore the $γ$ matrices are the standard ones. Propagators are regularized with the help of evanescent higher-derivative kinetic terms, which are of the Majorana type in the case of chi…
In order to explore some general features of modified theories of gravity which involve higher derivatives and spontaneous Lorentz and/or diffeomorphism symmetry breaking, we study the recently proposed new version of covariant renormalizable gravity (CRG). CRG attains power-counting renormalizability via higher derivatives and introduction of a constrained scalar field and spontaneous symmetry breaking. We obtain an Arnowitt-Deser-Misner representation of the CRG action in four-dimensional spacetime with respect to a foliation of spacetime adapted to the constrained scalar field. The resultin…
We prove the renormalizability of various theories of classical gravity coupled with interacting quantum fields. The models contain vertices with dimensionality greater than four, a finite number of matter operators and a finite or reduced number of independent couplings. An interesting class of models is obtained from ordinary power-counting renormalizable theories, letting the couplings depend on the scalar curvature R of spacetime. The divergences are removed without introducing higher-derivative kinetic terms in the gravitational sector. The metric tensor has a non-trivial running, even if…
