Abstract
We analyze the spectrum of the exactly duality and gauge invariant higher-derivative double field theory. While this theory is based on a chiral CFT and does not correspond to a standard string theory, our analysis illuminates a number of issues central in string theory. The full quadratic action is rewritten as a two-derivative theory with additional fields. This allows for a simple analysis of the spectrum, which contains two massive spin-2 ghosts and massive scalars, in addition to the massless fields. Moreover, in this formulation, the massless or tensionless limit α ′ → ∞ is non-singular and leads to an enhanced gauge symmetry. We show that the massive modes can be integrated out exactly at the quadratic level, leading to an infinite series of higher-derivative corrections. Finally, we present a ghost-free massive extension of linearized double field theory, which employs a novel mass term for the dilaton and metric.
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ArXiv ePrint: 1607.01784
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Hohm, O., Naseer, U. & Zwiebach, B. On the curious spectrum of duality invariant higher-derivative gravity. J. High Energ. Phys. 2016, 173 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP08(2016)173
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP08(2016)173