Critical Higher Order Gravities in Higher Dimensions

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how to construct a higher-dimensional critical gravity theory with specific particle modes by tuning higher order curvature terms, and discusses multi-criticality in such theories.

Contribution

It shows the explicit construction of critical gravity models in higher dimensions using higher order curvature terms and analyzes their particle spectrum.

Findings

The model has a massless graviton and a massive spin-two mode, with no scalar mode.

Critical gravity can be achieved by tuning coefficients in higher order curvature Lagrangians.

Comments on multi-criticality in higher order gravity theories are provided.

Abstract

We show that the higher order gravity model proposed by Meissner and Olechowski has a graviton mode, a massive spin-two excitation and no scalar mode in a maximally symmetric spacetime; therefore, by choosing the coefficients, we can construct a Lagrangian for `critical gravity' from higher order terms of curvatures in higher dimensions. We also give a comment on construction of the theory with multi-criticality in higher order gravities.