We calculate graviton $n$-point functions in an anti-de Sitter black brane background for effective gravity theories whose linearized equations of motion have at most two time derivatives. We compare the $n$-point functions in Einstein gravity to those in theories whose leading correction is quadratic in the Riemann tensor. The comparison is made for any number of gravitons and for all physical graviton modes in a kinematic region for which the leading correction can significantly modify the Einstein result. We find that the $n$-point functions of Einstein gravity depend on at most a single angle, whereas those of the corrected theories may depend on two angles. For the four-point functions, Einstein gravity exhibits linear dependence on the Mandelstam variable $s$ versus a quadratic dependence on $s$ for the corrected theory.

• Received 17 February 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.85.084028