2011/09/30 by S. F. Hassan, Rachel A. Rosen · 3 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/jhep02(2012)126
results extended, version accepted for publication
openalex publication_date 2012/02/01 · arxiv created 2012/04/03 · arxiv updated 2015/05/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
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.