https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-017-5176-z
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Gauges and functional measures in quantum gravity II: higher-derivative gravity
1
Department of Physics, Kindai University, Higashi-Osaka, Osaka, 577-8502, Japan
2
International School for Advanced Studies, via Bonomea 265, 34136, Trieste, Italy
3
INFN, Sezione di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
4
Departamento de Física Teórica, UERJ-Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, 20550-013, Brazil
* e-mail: duarte763@gmail.com
Received:
3
January
2017
Accepted:
30
August
2017
Published online:
15
September
2017
We compute the one-loop divergences in a higher-derivative theory of gravity including Ricci tensor squared and Ricci scalar squared terms, in addition to the Hilbert and cosmological terms, on an (generally off-shell) Einstein background. We work with a two-parameter family of parametrizations of the graviton field, and a two-parameter family of gauges. We find that there are some choices of gauge or parametrization that reduce the dependence on the remaining parameters. The results are invariant under a recently discovered “duality” that involves the replacement of the densitized metric by a densitized inverse metric as the fundamental quantum variable.
© The Author(s), 2017