Nonsymmetric gravity theories: Inconsistencies and a cure
- Creators
- Damour, T.
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Deser, S.
- McCarthy, J.
Abstract
Motivated by the apparent dependence of string σ models on the sum of spacetime metric and antisymmetric tensor fields, we reconsider gravity theories constructed from a nonsymmetric metric. We first show, by expanding in powers of the antisymmetric field, that all such ''geometrical'' theories homogeneous in second derivatives violate standard physical requirements: ghost freedom, absence of algebraic inconsistencies, or continuity of degree-of-freedom content. This no-go result applies in particular to the old unified theory of Einstein and its recent avatars. However, we find that the addition of nonderivative, ''cosmological'' terms formally restores consistency by giving a mass to the antisymmetric tensor field, thereby transmuting it into a fifth-force-like massive vector but with novel possible matter couplings. The resulting macroscopic models also exhibit ''van der Waals''–type gravitational effects, and may provide useful phenomenological foils to general relativity.
Additional Information
© 1993 American Physical Society. (Received 26 June 1992) T.D. thanks G.W. Gibbons for fruitful discussions in the early stages of this work. We are grateful to A. Lichnerowicz for an informative conversation on earlier literature, and to C.M. Will for a suggestion. The work of S.D. and J.M. was supported in part by NSF Grant No. PHY88-04561; S.D. thanks IHES for hospitality.Attached Files
Published - PhysRevD.47.1541.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 73385
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20170110-133821974
- NSF
- PHY88-04561
- Created
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2017-01-10Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-11Created from EPrint's last_modified field