Bimetric Gravity from Ghost-free Massive Gravity

Abstract

Generically, non-linear bimetric theories of gravity suffer from the same Boulware-Deser ghost instability as non-linear theories of massive gravity. However, recently proposed theories of massive gravity have been shown to be ghost-free. These theories are formulated with respect to a flat, non-dynamical reference metric. In this work we show that it is possible to give dynamics to the reference metric in such a way that the consistency of the theory is maintained. The result is a non-linear bimetric theory of a massless spin-2 field interacting with a massive spin-2 field that is free of the Boulware-Deser ghost. To our knowledge, this is the first construction of such a ghost-free bimetric theory.