Higher order derivative coupling to gravity and its cosmological implications

Abstract

We show that the $R^{(3)}\delta K$ operator in effective field theory is significant for avoiding the instability of nonsingular bounce, where $R^{(3)}$ and $K_{\mu\nu}$ are the three-dimensional Ricci scalar and the extrinsic curvature on the spacelike hypersurface, respectively. We point out that the covariant Lagrangian of $R^{(3)}\delta K$, i.e., $L_{R^{(3)}\delta K}$, has the second order derivative couplings of scalar field to gravity which do not appear in Horndeski theory or its extensions, but does not bring the Ostrogradski ghost. We also discuss the possible effect of $L_{R^{(3)}\delta K}$ on the primordial scalar perturbation in inflation scenario.