Classical properties of non-local, ghost- and singularity-free gravity

Abstract

In this paper we will show all the linearized curvature tensors in the infinite derivative ghost and singularity free theory of gravity in the static limit. We have found that in the region of non-locality, in the ultraviolet regime (at short distance from the source), the Ricci tensor and the Ricci scalar are not vanishing, meaning that we do not have a Ricci flat vacuum solution anymore due to the smearing of the source induced by the presence of non-local gravitational interactions. It also follows that, unlike in Einstein's gravity, the Riemann tensor is not traceless and it does not coincide with the Weyl tensor. Secondly, these curvatures are regularized at short distances such that they are singularity-free, in particular the same happens for the Kretschmann invariant. Unlike the others, the Weyl tensor vanishes at short distances, implying that the spacetime metric approaches conformal-flatness in the region of non-locality, in the ultraviolet. We briefly discuss the solution in the non-linear regime, and argue that 1/r metric potential cannot be the solution in the short-distance regime, where non-locality becomes important.