Massive gravity: Exorcising the ghost

Abstract

We consider Higgs massive gravity [1, 2] and investigate whether a nonlinear ghost in this theory can be avoided. We show that although the theory considered in [10, 11] is ghost free in the decoupling limit, the ghost nevertheless reappears in the fourth order away from the decoupling limit. We also demonstate that there is no direct relation between the value of the Vainshtein scale and the existence of nonlinear ghost. We discuss how massive gravity should be modified to avoid the appearence of the ghost. © SISSA 2011.