Gravity Lagrangian ith ghost-free curvature-squared terms

Journal Article · Wed Nov 15 04:00:00 EST 1978 · Phys. Rev., D; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.18.3535· OSTI ID:6772719

Neville, D E

We construct a gravity theory using a set of Yang-Mills type gauge fields rather than the usual 10 metric fields g/sub munu/. This formalism, first proposed by Utiyama and Kibble, allows us to construct a gravity Lagrangian containing six invariants bilinear in the curvature tensor (as well as the usual invariant linear in R). The new terms are of interest since they may absorb some of the divergences which result when gravity is renormalized in the presence of matter. We study the graviton propagator in this theory. Usually, when curvature-squared terms are added to the Lagrangian, ghosts appear in the graviton propagator, and/or it high-energy behavior worsens. In the present case, we find we must drop four of the six invariants in order to avoid such difficulties. One of the surviving invariants predicts the existence of an extremely massive pseudoscalar particle. Neither surviving invariant is of the proper form to absorb renormalization divergences. The present investigation does not fully test the potentialities of the Kibble-Utiyama formalism, since the torsion tensor is nonzero in their framework, and our Lagrangian included no terms constructed from this tensor.

• Research Organization: Physics Department, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122
• OSTI ID: 6772719
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev., D; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Rev., D; (United States) Vol. 18:10; ISSN PRVDA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

645400* -- High Energy Physics-- Field Theory
657003 -- Theoretical & Mathematical Physics-- Relativity & Gravitation
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EQUATIONS
FIELD EQUATIONS
FUNCTIONS
GAUGE INVARIANCE
GRAVITATIONAL FIELDS
GRAVITATIONAL RADIATION
GRAVITONS
INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES
LAGRANGIAN FUNCTION
LIE GROUPS
MASSLESS PARTICLES
POINCARE GROUPS
POSTULATED PARTICLES
PROPAGATOR
RADIATIONS
RENORMALIZATION
SYMMETRY GROUPS
YANG-MILLS THEORY