Generalized sixth-order gravity and inflation. (English) Zbl 0781.53059
Summary: We consider sixth-order theories of gravity with Lagrangians containing the term \(R^ N\square R\), where \(N > 1\) is an integer. A conformal transformation gives a picture with two scalar fields in Einstein’s theory. We find de Sitter and power law inflationary solutions. However, the theory has an unstable weak-field behaviour, because the linearized field equation is of lower order than the non-linear one.
MSC:
53Z05 | Applications of differential geometry to physics |
83C25 | Approximation procedures, weak fields in general relativity and gravitational theory |
81T20 | Quantum field theory on curved space or space-time backgrounds |