Generalization of the Proca Action

Lavinia Heisenberg

Published 2014-02-27, updated 2019-08-01Version 3

We consider the Lagrangian of a vector field with derivative self-interactions with a priori arbitrary coefficients. Starting with a flat space-time we show that for a special choice of the coefficients of the self-interactions the ghost-like pathologies disappear. For this we use the degeneracy condition of the Hessian. This constitutes the Galileon-type generalization of the Proca action with only three propagating physical degrees of freedom. The longitudinal mode of the vector field is associated to the usual Galileon interactions for a specific choice of the overall functions. In difference to a scalar Galileon theory, the generalized Proca field has more free parameters and purely intrinsic vector interactions. We then extend this analysis to a curved background. The resulting theory is the Horndeski Proca action with second order equations of motion on curved space-times.