Complex poles in the ghost propagator induce persistent interactions at asymptotic times, rendering negative-norm ghost states indistinguishable from superpositions of positive-norm multi-particle states and eliminating free asymptotic ghost particles.
Unitary Quadratic Quantum Gravity in 4D
2 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.
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abstract
In quadratic gravity, with a positive Weyl squared coefficient, the extra spin-2 sector is shown to correspond to a dual inverted harmonic oscillator, instead of a ghost. Using the Wightman spectrum condition, we prove that the associated K\"{a}ll\'{e}n--Lehmann spectral density vanishes, reflecting the absence of a normalizable ground state and the spacelike nature of the propagator pole. This uniquely fixes the propagator to a principal value form as a theorem, not a prescription. The optical theorem is satisfied, the dual IHO spin-2 is not an asymptotic state, and gives only virtual contributions at all loop orders. As a result, unitarity is preserved consistently with renormalizability.
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2026 2verdicts
UNVERDICTED 2representative citing papers
The inverted harmonic oscillator and its dual are argued to underpin a unique unitary renormalizable quantum gravity in four dimensions, yielding a non-singular universe and Starobinsky inflation.
citing papers explorer
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Asymptotic Quantum Dynamics of Ghost Fields
Complex poles in the ghost propagator induce persistent interactions at asymptotic times, rendering negative-norm ghost states indistinguishable from superpositions of positive-norm multi-particle states and eliminating free asymptotic ghost particles.
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The Saddle Point of Everything
The inverted harmonic oscillator and its dual are argued to underpin a unique unitary renormalizable quantum gravity in four dimensions, yielding a non-singular universe and Starobinsky inflation.