BRST quantization of a sixth-order derivative scalar field theory

Abstract

We study a sixth order derivative scalar field model in Minkowski spacetime as a toy model of higher-derivative critical gravity theories. This model is consistently quantized when using the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) quantization scheme even though it does not show gauge symmetry manifestly. Imposing a BRST quartet generated by two scalars and ghosts, there remains a non-trivial subspace with positive norm. This might be interpreted as a Minkowskian dual version of the unitary truncation in the logarithmic conformal field theory.

13 pages, 2 figures, version to appear in MPLA

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Cited by in corpus (3)

• Natural Higher-Derivatives Generalization for the Klein-Gordon Equation
• Cosmological singleton gravity theory and dS/LCFT correspondence
• Cosmological three-coupled scalar theory for the dS/LCFT correspondence