SOLVING THE RIDDLE OF THE INCOMPATIBILITY BETWEEN RENORMALIZABILITY AND UNITARITY IN N-DIMENSIONAL EINSTEIN GRAVITY ENLARGED BY CURVATURE-SQUARED TERMS

Abstract

One of the puzzling aspects of N-dimensional Einstein Gravity (NDEG) augmented by curvature-squared terms is why renormalizability and unitarity, two of the most important properties of any physical theory, cannot be reconciled in its framework. Actually, the reason why these properties are mutually incompatible within the context of generic higher-derivative models, not necessarily related to gravity, is one of the unsolved mysteries of physics. Here, a simple solution to the NDEG riddle, based on the analysis of the interparticle gravitational potential, is presented. The main argument used to support our discussion is that tree-level unitarity and the existence of a singularity in the potential are intertwined.