Higher Derivative Scalar-tensor Theory Research Articles

Higher derivative scalar tensor theory in unitary gauge

Ostrogradsky instability generally appears in nondegenerate higher-order derivative theories and this issue can be resolved by removing any existing degeneracy present in such theories. We consider an action involving terms that are at most quadratic in second derivatives of the scalar field and non-minimally coupled with the curvature tensors. We perform a 3+1 decomposition of the Lagrangian to separate second-order time derivative terms from rest. This decomposition is useful for checking the degeneracy hidden in the Lagrangian and helps us find conditions under which Ostrogradsky instability does not appear. We show that our construction of Lagrangian resembles that of a GR-like theory for a particular case in the unitary gauge. As an example, we calculate the equation of motion for the flat FRW. We also write the action for open and closed cases, free from higher derivatives for a particular choice derived from imposing degeneracy conditions.

Higher derivative scalar-tensor theory from the spatially covariant gravity: a linear algebraic analysis

We investigate the ghostfree scalar-tensor theory with a timelike scalar field, with the derivatives of the scalar field up to the third order and with the Riemann curvature tensor up to the quadratic order. There are two kinds of linear space that are isomorphic to each other in the sense of gauge fixing/recovering procedures. One is the set of linearly independent generally covariant scalar-tensor monomials, the other is the set of linearly independent spatially covariant gravity monomials. We concentrate on the subspaces of the spatially covariant gravity, which are spanned by the linearly independent monomials built of the extrinsic curvature, the intrinsic curvature, the lapse function as well as their spatial derivatives. The vectors in these subspaces, i.e., spatially covariant gravity polynomials, automatically propagate at most three degrees of freedom. As a result, their images under the gauge recovering mappings are automatically the subspaces of the generally covariant scalar-tensor theory that propagate up to three degrees of freedom as long as the scalar field is timelike, although the higher derivatives of the scalar field are present generally. We also derive the explicit expressions for the projection matrices, which encode the mappings from the subspaces of the spatially covariant gravity to the subspaces of the generally covariant scalar-tensor theory, up to the fourth order in the total number of derivatives in the spatially covariant gravity. Our formalism and results will be useful in deriving the generally covariant higher derivative scalar-tensor theory without ghost(s).

Higher derivative scalar-tensor theory and spatially covariant gravity: The correspondence

We investigate the correspondence between generally covariant higher derivative scalar-tensor theory and spatially covariant gravity theory. The building blocks are the scalar field and spacetime curvature tensor together with their generally covariant derivatives for the former, and the spatially covariant geometric quantities together with their spatially covariant derivatives for the later. In the case of a single scalar degree of freedom, they are transformed to each other by gauge fixing and recovering procedures, of which we give the explicit expressions. We make a systematic classification of all the scalar monomials in the spatially covariant gravity according to the total number of derivatives up to $d=4$, and their correspondence to the scalar-tensor monomials. We discusse the possibility of using spatially covariant monomials to generate ghostfree higher derivative scalar-tensor theories. We also derive the covariant 3+1 decomposition without fixing any specific coordinate, which will be useful when performing a covariant Hamiltonian analysis.

Black hole solutions in shift-symmetric degenerate higher-order scalar-tensor theories

We show that most classes of shift-symmetric degenerate higher-order scalar-tensor (DHOST) theories which satisfy certain degeneracy conditions are not compatible with the conditions for the existence of exact black hole solutions with a linearly time-dependent scalar field whose canonical kinetic term take a constant value. Combined with constraints from the propagation speed of gravitational waves, our results imply that cubic DHOST theories are strongly disfavored and that pure quadratic theories are likely to be the most viable class of DHOST theories. We find exact static and spherically symmetric (Schwarzschild and Schwarzschild-(anti-)de Sitter) black hole solutions in all shift-symmetric higher-derivative scalar-tensor theories which contain up to cubic order terms of the second-order derivatives of the scalar field, especially the full class of Horndeski and Gleyzes-Langlois-Piazza-Vernizzi theories. After deriving the conditions for the coupling functions in the DHOST Lagrangian that allow the exact solutions, we clarify their compatibility with the degeneracy conditions.

Higher derivative scalar-tensor theory through a non-dynamical scalar field

We propose a new class of higher derivative scalar-tensor theories without the Ostrogradsky's ghost instabilities. The construction of our theory is originally motivated by a scalar field with spacelike gradient, which enables us to fix a gauge in which the scalar field appears to be non-dynamical. We dub such a gauge as the spatial gauge. Though the scalar field loses its dynamics, the spatial gauge fixing breaks the time diffeomorphism invariance and thus excites a scalar mode in the gravity sector. We generalize this idea and construct a general class of scalar-tensor theories through a non-dynamical scalar field, which preserves only spatial covariance. We perform a Hamiltonian analysis and confirm that there are at most three (two tensors and one scalar) dynamical degrees of freedom, which ensures the absence of a degree of freedom due to higher derivatives. Our construction opens a new branch of scalar-tensor theories with higher derivatives.

Non-Locality and Late-Time Cosmic Acceleration from an Ultraviolet Complete Theory †

A local phenomenological model that reduces to a non-local gravitational theory giving dark energy is proposed. The non-local gravity action is known to fit the data as well as Λ-CDM thereby demanding a more fundamental local treatment. It is seen that the scale-invariant higher-derivative scalar-tensor theory of gravity, which is known to be ultraviolet perturbative renormalizable to all loops and where ghosts become innocuous, generates non-locality at low energies. The local action comprises of two real scalar fields coupled non-minimally with the higher-derivative gravity action. When one of the scalar acquiring the Vacuum Expectation Value (VEV) induces Einstein–Hilbert gravity, generates mass for fields, and gets decoupled from system, it leaves behind a residual theory which in turn leads to a non-local gravity generating dark energy effects.

Effective loop quantum cosmology as a higher-derivative scalar-tensor theory

Recently, Chamseddine and Mukhanov introduced a higher-derivative scalar-tensor theory which leads to a modified Friedmann equation allowing for bouncing solutions. As we note in the present work, this Friedmann equation turns out to reproduce exactly the loop quantum cosmology effective dynamics for a flat isotropic and homogeneous space-time. We generalize this result to obtain a class of scalar-tensor theories, belonging to the family of mimetic gravity, which all reproduce the loop quantum cosmology effective dynamics for flat, closed and open isotropic and homogeneous space-times.

Hamiltonian analysis of higher derivative scalar-tensor theories

We perform a Hamiltonian analysis of a large class of scalar-tensor Lagrangians which depend quadratically on the second derivatives of a scalar field. By resorting to a convenient choice of dynamical variables, we show that the Hamiltonian can be written in a very simple form, where the Hamiltonian and the momentum constraints are easily identified. In the case of degenerate Lagrangians, which include the Horndeski and beyond Horndeski quartic Lagrangians, our analysis confirms that the dimension of the physical phase space is reduced by the primary and secondary constraints due to the degeneracy, thus leading to the elimination of the dangerous Ostrogradsky ghost. We also present the Hamiltonian formulation for nondegenerate theories and find that they contain four degrees of freedom, including a ghost, as expected. We finally discuss the status of the unitary gauge from the Hamiltonian perspective.

Higher-derivative scalar-vector-tensor theories: black holes, Galileons, singularity cloaking and holography

AbstractWe consider a general Kaluza-Klein reduction of a truncated Lovelock theory. We find necessary geometric conditions for the reduction to be consistent. The resulting lower-dimensional theory is a higher derivative scalar-tensor theory, depends on a single real parameter and yields second-order field equations. Due to the presence of higher-derivative terms, the theory has multiple applications in modifications of Einstein gravity (Galileon/Horndesky theory) and holography (Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theories). We find and analyze charged black hole solutions with planar or curved horizons, both in the ‘Einstein’ and ‘Galileon’ frame, with or without cosmological constant. Naked singularities are dressed by a geometric event horizon originating from the higher-derivative terms. The near-horizon region of the near-extremal black hole is unaffected by the presence of the higher derivatives, whether scale invariant or hyperscaling violating. In the latter case, the area law for the entanglement entropy is violated logarithmically, as expected in the presence of a Fermi surface. For negative cosmological constant and planar horizons, thermodynamics and first-order hydrodynamics are derived: the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio does not depend on temperature, as expected from the higher-dimensional scale invariance.

Scalar-tensor theory and the anisotropic perturbations of the inflationary universe

Inflationary higher derivative scalar-tensor theory is analyzed in this paper in a de Sitter background space. A useful model-independent formula of the Friedmann equation is derived and used to study the stability problem associated with the anisotropic perturbations of the inflationary solution. The stability conditions of the de Sitter solution are derived for a general class of models. For a simple demonstration, an induced gravity model is considered in this paper for the effects of the higher derivative interactions including a cubic term.

Late-time cosmology in a (phantom) scalar-tensor theory: Dark energy and the cosmic speed-up

We consider late-time cosmology in a (phantom) scalar-tensor theory with an exponential potential, as a dark-energy model with equation of state parameter close to $\ensuremath{-}1$ (a bit above or below this value). Scalar (and also other kinds of) matter can be easily taken into account. An exact spatially flat FRW cosmology is constructed for such theory, which admits (eternal or transient) acceleration phases for the current universe, in correspondence with observational results. Some remarks on the possible origin of the phantom, starting from a more fundamental theory, are also made. It is shown that quantum gravity effects may prevent (or, at least, delay or soften) the cosmic doomsday catastrophe associated with the phantom, i.e., the otherwise unavoidable finite-time future singularity (Big Rip). A dark-energy model (higher-derivative scalar-tensor theory) is introduced, and it is shown to admit an effective phantom and/or quintessence description with a transient acceleration phase. In this case, gravity favors that an initially insignificant portion of dark energy becomes dominant over the standard matter and radiation components in the evolution process.