On the renormalization of Poincar\'e gauge theories

Abstract

Poincar\'e Gauge Theories are a class of Metric-Affine Gravity theories with a metric-compatible (i.e. Lorentz) connection and with an action quadratic in curvature and torsion. We perform an explicit one-loop calculation starting with a single term of each type and show that not only are all other terms generated, but also many others. In our particular model all terms containing torsion are redundant and can be eliminated by field redefinitions, but there remains a new term quadratic in curvature, making the model non-renormalizable. We discuss the likely behavior of more general theories of this type.