• Open Access

Beyond Positivity Bounds and the Fate of Massive Gravity

Brando Bellazzini, Francesco Riva, Javi Serra, and Francesco Sgarlata
Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 161101 – Published 17 April 2018
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Abstract

We constrain effective field theories by going beyond the familiar positivity bounds that follow from unitarity, analyticity, and crossing symmetry of the scattering amplitudes. As interesting examples, we discuss the implications of the bounds for the Galileon and ghost-free massive gravity. The combination of our theoretical bounds with the experimental constraints on the graviton mass implies that the latter is either ruled out or unable to describe gravitational phenomena, let alone to consistently implement the Vainshtein mechanism, down to the relevant scales of fifth-force experiments, where general relativity has been successfully tested. We also show that the Galileon theory must contain symmetry-breaking terms that are at most one-loop suppressed compared to the symmetry-preserving ones. We comment as well on other interesting applications of our bounds.

  • Figure
  • Received 15 December 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.161101

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Particles & FieldsGravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

Authors & Affiliations

Brando Bellazzini1,2, Francesco Riva3,4, Javi Serra4,5, and Francesco Sgarlata6

  • 1Institut de Physique Théorique, Université Paris Saclay, CEA, CNRS, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
  • 2Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, I-35131 Padova, Italy
  • 3Départment de Physique Théorique, Université de Genève, 24 quai Ernest-Ansermet, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland
  • 4Theory Division, CERN, CH-1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland
  • 5Physik-Department, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching, Germany
  • 6SISSA International School for Advanced Studies and INFN Trieste, via Bonomea 265 34136, Trieste, Italy

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Issue

Vol. 120, Iss. 16 — 20 April 2018

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