Ghost-free infinite derivative gravity

• Main Authors: Brage Gording, Angnis Schmidt-May
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2018-09-01
• Series: Journal of High Energy Physics
• Subjects: Classical Theories of Gravity; Models of Quantum Gravity
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/JHEP09(2018)044

Abstract We present the construction of a gravitational action including an infinite series of higher derivative terms. The outcome is a classically consistent completion of a well-studied quadratic curvature theory. The closed form for the full action is ghost-free bimetric theory, describing the interactions of a massive and a massless spin-2 field. At energies much smaller than the spin-2 mass scale, the theory reduces to general relativity. For energies comparable to the spin-2 mass, the higher derivative terms completing the Einstein-Hilbert action capture the effects of the additional massive spin-2 field. The theory is only ghost-free when the full series of higher derivatives is kept.