https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-018-6035-2
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Renormalization group in super-renormalizable quantum gravity
1
Department of Physics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
2
Instituto de Física, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
3
Departamento de Física, ICE, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Campus Universitário, Juiz de Fora, MG, 36036-330, Brazil
4
Tomsk State Pedagogical University, Tomsk, 634041, Russia
5
Tomsk State University, Tomsk, 634050, Russia
* e-mail: grzerach@gmail.com
Received:
11
May
2018
Accepted:
28
June
2018
Published online:
6
July
2018
One of the main advantages of super-renormalizable higher derivative quantum gravity models is the possibility to derive exact beta functions, by making perturbative one-loop calculations. We perform such a calculation for the Newton constant by using the Barvinsky–Vilkovisky trace technology. The result is well-defined in a large class of models of gravity in the sense that the renormalization group beta functions do not depend on the gauge-fixing condition. Finally, we discuss the possibility to apply the results to a large class of nonlocal gravitational theories which are free of massive ghost-like states at the tree-level.
© The Author(s), 2018