Lavinia Heisenberg

Cosmic Acceleration and the Helicity-0 Graviton

We explore cosmology in the decoupling limit of a nonlinear covariant extension of Fierz-Pauli massive gravity obtained recently in arXiv:1007.0443. In this limit the theory is a scalar-tensor model of a unique form defined by symmetries. We find that it admits a self-accelerated solution, with the Hubble parameter set by the graviton mass. The negative pressure causing the acceleration is due to a condensate of the helicity-0 component of the massive graviton, and the background evolution, in the approximation used, is indistinguishable from the {Lambda}CDM model. Fluctuations about the self-accelerated background are stable for a certain range of parameters involved. Most surprisingly, the fluctuation of the helicity-0 field above its background decouples from an arbitrary source in the linearized theory. We also show how massive gravity can remarkably screen an arbitrarily large cosmological constant in the decoupling limit, while evading issues with ghosts. The obtained static solution is stable against small perturbations, suggesting that the degravitation of the vacuum energy is possible in the full theory. Interestingly, however, this mechanism postpones the Vainshtein effect to shorter distance scales. Hence, fifth force measurements severely constrain the value of the cosmological constant that can be neutralized, making this scheme phenomenologically not viablemorexa0» for solving the old cosmological constant problem. We briefly speculate on a possible way out of this issue.«xa0less

On couplings to matter in massive (bi-)gravity

We investigate the coupling to matter in ghost-free massive (bi-)gravity. When species in the matter sector couple covariantly to only one metric, we show that at one--loop these couplings do not spoil the special structure of the graviton potential. When the same species couples directly to both metrics we show that a ghost is present at the classical level and that loops destroy the special structure of the potential at an unacceptably low scale. We then propose a new `composite effective metric built out of both metrics. When matter fields couple covariantly to this effective metric, the would be Boulware--Deser ghost is absent in different representative limits. At one--loop such couplings do not detune the special structure of the potential. We conjecture that matter can couple covariantly to that effective metric in all generality without introducing any Boulware--Deser ghost below a cut-off scale parametrically larger than the strong coupling scale. We also discuss alternative couplings to matter where the kinetic and potential terms of the matter field couple to different metrics. In both cases we discuss preliminary implications for cosmology.

Generalization of the Proca Action

We consider the Lagrangian of a vector field with derivative self-interactions with a priori arbitrary coefficients. Starting with a flat space-time we show that for a special choice of the coefficients of the self-interactions the ghost-like pathologies disappear. This constitutes the Galileon-type generalization of the Proca action with only three propagating physical degrees of freedom. The longitudinal mode of the vector field is associated to the usual Galileon interactions for a specific choice of the overall functions. In difference to a scalar Galileon theory, the generalized Proca field has more free parameters. We then extend this analysis to a curved background. The resulting theory is the Horndeski Proca action with second order equations of motion on curved space-times.

Ghosts and matter couplings in massive gravity, bigravity and multigravity

Claudia de Rham, Lavinia Heisenberg, 3 and Raquel H. Ribeiro CERCA & Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA Nordita, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University, Roslagstullsbacken 23, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden Department of Physics & The Oskar Klein Centre, AlbaNova University Centre, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden (Dated: September 23, 2014)

Chronology protection in Galileon models and massive gravity

Galileon models are a class of effective field theories that have recently received much attention. They arise in the decoupling limit of theories of massive gravity, and in some cases they have been treated in their own right as scalar field theories with a specific nonlinearly realized global symmetry (Galilean transformation). It is well known that in the presence of a source, these Galileon theories admit superluminal propagating solutions, implying that as quantum field theories they must admit a different notion of causality than standard local Lorentz invariant theories. We show that in these theories it is easy to construct closed timelike curves (CTCs) within the naive regime of validity of the effective field theory. However, on closer inspection we see that the CTCs could never arise since the Galileon inevitably becomes infinitely strongly coupled at the onset of the formation of a CTC. This implies an infinite amount of backreaction, first on the background for the Galileon field, signaling the break down of the effective field theory, and subsequently on the spacetime geometry, forbidding the formation of the CTC. Furthermore the background solution required to create CTCs becomes unstable with an arbitrarily fast decay time. Thus Galileon theories satisfy a direct analogue of Hawkings chronology protection conjecture.

Quantum Corrections in Massive Gravity

We compute the one-loop quantum corrections to the potential of ghost-free massive gravity. We show how the mass of external matter fields contributes to the running of the cosmological constant, but does not change the ghost-free structure of the massive gravity potential at one-loop. When considering gravitons running in the loops, we show how the structure of the potential gets destabilized at the quantum level, but in a way which would never involve a ghost with a mass smaller than the Planck scale. This is done by explicitly computing the one-loop effective action and supplementing it with the Vainshtein mechanism. We conclude that to one-loop order the special mass structure of ghost-free massive gravity is technically natural.

de Sitter Galileon

We generalize the Galileon symmetry and its relativistic extension to a de Sitter background. This is made possible by studying a probe-brane in a flat five-dimensional bulk using a de Sitter slicing. The generalized Lovelock invariants induced on the probe brane enjoy the induced Poincare symmetry inherited from the bulk, while living on a de Sitter geometry. The non-relativistic limit of these invariants naturally maintain a generalized Galileon symmetry around de Sitter while being free of ghost-like pathologies. We comment briefly on the cosmology of these models and the extension to the AdS symmetry as well as generic FRW backgrounds.

Quantum corrections in massive bigravity and new effective composite metrics

We compute the one-loop quantum corrections to the interactions between the two metrics of the ghost-free massive bigravity. When considering gravitons running in the loops, we show how the structure of the interactions gets destabilized at the quantum level, exactly in the same way as in its massive gravity limit. A priori one might have expected a better quantum behavior, however, the broken diffeomorphism invariance out of the two initial diffeomorphisms in bigravity has similar consequences at the quantum level as the broken diffeomorphism in massive gravity. From lessons of the generated quantum corrections through matter loops we propose yet other types of effective composite metrics to which the matter fields can couple. Among these new effective metrics there might be one or more that could provide interesting phenomenology and important cosmological implications.

Cosmological perturbations in massive gravity with doubly coupled matter

We investigate the cosmological perturbations around FLRW solutions to non- linear massive gravity with a new effective coupling to matter proposed recently. Unlike the case with minimal matter coupling, all five degrees of freedom in the gravity sector propagate on generic self-accelerating FLRW backgrounds. We study the stability of the cosmological solutions and put constraints on the parameters of the theory by demanding the correct sign for the kinetic terms for scalar, vector and tensor perturbations.

Cosmology of the proxy theory to massive gravity

In this paper, we scrutinize very closely the cosmology in the proxy theory to massive gravity obtained in de Rham and Heisenberg [Phys. Rev. D 84, 043503 (2011)]. This proxy theory was constructed by covariantizing the decoupling limit Lagrangian of massive gravity, and it represents a subclass of Horndeski scalar-tensor theory. Thus, this covariantization unifies two important classes of modified gravity theories, namely, massive gravity and Horndeski theories. We go beyond the regime which was studied in de Rham and Heisenberg [Phys. Rev. D 84, 043503 (2011)] and show that the theory does not admit any homogeneous and isotropic self-accelerated solutions. We illustrate that the only attractor solution is the flat Minkowski solution; hence, this theory is less appealing as a dark energy model. We also show that the absence of de Sitter solutions is tightly related to the presence of shift symmetry breaking interactions.