The Ostrogradsky theorem states that any classical Lagrangian that contains time derivatives higher than the first order and is nondegenerate with respect to the highest-order derivatives leads to an unbounded Hamiltonian which linearly depends on the canonical momenta. Recently, the original theorem has been generalized to nondegeneracy with respect to non-highest-order derivatives. These theorems have been playing a central role in construction of sensible higher-derivative theories. We explore quantization of such nondegenerate theories, and prove that Hamiltonian is still unbounded at the level of quantum field theory.
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 Hamiltonians and then lead to (classical and quantum) instabilities. Then, we extend the Ostrogradsky theorem to higher-derivatives theories of several dynamical variables and show the possibility to evade the Ostrogradsky instability when the Lagrangian is "degenerate", still in the context of classical mechanics. In particular, we explain why higher-derivatives…
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 into an equivalent system with at most first-order derivatives by introducing auxiliary variables and constraints, it is conceivable that the link between ghost and higher derivatives may be reinterpreted as a link between ghost and constraints and/or auxiliary variables. We find that the latter point of view actually provides more general perspective than …
Ostrogradsky's Theorem is Incompatible with Background Independence in Quantum Gravity
Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies, KEK（高能加速器研究机构粒子核物理研究所）；Department of Particle and Nuclear Physics, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)（高级研究院粒子核物理系）
In theories with higher time derivatives, the Hamiltonian analysis of Ostrogradsky predicts an instability. However, this Hamiltonian treatment does not correspond the way that these theories are treated in quantum field theory, and the instability may be avoided in at least some cases. We present a very simple model which illustrates these features.
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 additional variables can remedy this situation. Employing a Lagrangian analysis, we identify conditions on the Lagrangian to ensure the existence of primary and secondary constraints that together imply the absence of Ostrogradsky ghosts. We also show the implications of these conditions for the structure of the equations of motion as well as possible redefiniti…
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 the Ostrogradsky theorem and have a real energy spectrum that is bounded from below. The complex theory can be canonically quantised. The resulting quantum theory does not suffer from the kinetic instability and maintains the usual probabilistic interpretation without violating the correspondence principle. As a proof of concept, we construct a class of stab…
Newtons second law, Schrodingers equation and Maxwells equations are all theories composed of at most second-time derivatives. Indeed, it is not often we need to take the time derivative of the acceleration. So why are we not seeing more higher-order derivative theories? Although several studies present higher derivatives usefulness in quadratic gravity and scalar-field theories, one will eventually encounter a problem. In 1850, the physicist Mikhail Ostrogradsky presented a theorem that stated that a non-degenerate Lagrangian composed of finite higher-order time derivatives results in a Hamil…
We remark that Ostrogradsky ghosts in higher-derivative gravity, with a finite number of derivatives, are fictitious as they result from an unjustified truncation performed in a complete theory containing infinitely many curvature invariants. The apparent ghosts can then be projected out of the quadratic gravity spectrum by redefining the boundary conditions of the theory in terms of an integration contour that does not enclose the ghost poles. This procedure does not alter the renormalizability of the theory. One can thus use quadratic gravity as a quantum field theory of gravity that is both…
Ostrogradsky's method allows one to construct Hamiltonian formulation for a higher derivative system. An application of this approach to the Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator yields the Hamiltonian which is unbounded from below. This leads to the ghost problem in quantum theory. In order to avoid this nasty feature, the technique previously developed in [Acta Phys. Polon. B 36 (2005) 2115] is used to construct an alternative Hamiltonian formulation for the multidimensional Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator of arbitrary even order with distinct frequencies of oscillation. This construction is also generalized …
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…
We show that it is possible to consistently describe dynamical systems, whose equations of motion are of degree higher than two, in the microcanonical ensemble, even if the higher derivatives aren't coordinate artifacts. Higher time derivatives imply that there are more than one Hamiltonians, conserved quantities due to time translation invariance, and, if the volume in phase space, defined by their intersection, is compact, microcanonical averages can be defined and there isn't any instability, in the sense of Ostrogradsky, even though each Hamiltonian, individually, may define a non-compact …
We review a package of no-go results in axiomatic quantum field theory with Haag's theorem at its centre. Since the concept of operator-valued distributions in this framework comes very close to what we believe canonical quantum fields are about, these results are of consequence to quantum field theory: they suggest the seeming absurdity that this highly victorious theory is incapable of describing interactions. We single out unitarity of the interaction picture's intertwiner as the most salient provision of Haag's theorem and critique canonical perturbation theory to argue that renormalisatio…
The classical Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) theorem provides the underlying mechanism for the stability of the solar system under some small chaotic perturbations. Despite many previous efforts, any quantum version of the KAM theorem remains elusive In this work, we provide a quantum KAM theorem in the context of the anisotropic Dicke model which is the most important quantum optics model. It describes a single mode of photons coupled to $ N $ qubits with both a rotating wave (RW) term and a counter-RW (CRW) term. As the ratio of the CRW over the RW term increases from zero to one, the systems…
Under broad conditions, we prove that the probability amplitudes in the quantum mechanics are either always constant in time or changing continuously in any interval of time.
The problem of computing quantum mechanical propagators can be recast as a computation of a Wilson line operator for parallel transport by a flat connection acting on a vector bundle of wavefunctions. In this picture the base manifold is an odd dimensional symplectic geometry, or quite generically a contact manifold that can be viewed as a "phase-spacetime", while the fibers are Hilbert spaces. This approach enjoys a "quantum Darboux theorem" that parallels the Darboux theorem on contact manifolds which turns local classical dynamics into straight lines. We detail how the quantum Darboux theor…
