Interesting features of a general class of higher derivative theories of quantum gravity

Abstract

We investigate some classical and quantum aspects of a general class of higher derivative theories of gravity. We propose a generalized version of the so-called Teyssandier gauge condition and we investigative its implications on the linearized field equations. An exhaustive investigation on the particle spectra is done, including a discussion on the appearance of ghost-like particles. We investigate the UV properties and we determine the power-counting renormalizability of the theory. Finally we probe a conjecture which relates renormalizability with the cancellation of Newtonian singularities.