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Bimetric gravity from ghost-free massive gravity

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Abstract

Generically, non-linear bimetric theories of gravity suffer from the same Boulware-Deser ghost instability as non-linear theories of massive gravity. However, recently proposed theories of massive gravity have been shown to be ghost-free. These theories are formulated with respect to a flat, non-dynamical reference metric. In this work we show that it is possible to give dynamics to the reference metric in such a way that the consistency of the theory is maintained. The result is a non-linear bimetric theory of a massless spin-2 field interacting with a massive spin-2 field that is free of the Boulware-Deser ghost. To our knowledge, this is the first construction of such a ghost-free bimetric theory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics & The Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University, AlbaNova University Centre, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    S. F. Hassan

  2. Physics Department and Institute for Strings, Cosmology, and Astroparticle Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, U.S.A.

    Rachel A. Rosen

Authors
  1. S. F. Hassan
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  2. Rachel A. Rosen
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Correspondence to Rachel A. Rosen.

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ArXiv ePrint: 1109.3515

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Hassan, S.F., Rosen, R.A. Bimetric gravity from ghost-free massive gravity. J. High Energ. Phys. 2012, 126 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP02(2012)126

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP02(2012)126

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