Higher order equations of motion and gravity

Standard fundamental equations of motion for point particles are of second order in the time derivative. Here we are exploring the consequences of fundamental equations of motion with an additional small even higher order term to the standard formulation. This is related to two issues: (i) higher order equations of motion will have influence on the definition of the structure of possible interactions and in particular of the gravitational interaction, and (ii) such equations of motion provide a framework to test the validity of Newton’s second law which is the basis for the definition of forces but which assumes from the very beginning that the fundamental equations of motion are of second order. We will show that starting with our generalized equations of motions it is possible to introduce the space-time metric describing the gravitational interaction by means of a standard gauge principle. Another main result within our model of even higher order derivatives is that for slowly varying and smooth fields the higher order derivatives either lead to runaway solutions or induces a zitterbewegung. We confront this higher order scheme with experimental data.