<i>Q</i> curvature and gravity

Abstract

In this paper, we consider a family of n-dimensional, higher-curvature theories of gravity whose action is given by a series of dimensionally extended conformal invariants. The latter correspond to higher-order generalizations of the Branson <i>Q</i> curvature, which is an important notion of conformal geometry that has been recently considered in physics in different contexts. The family of theories we study here includes special cases of conformal invariant theories in even dimensions. We study different aspects of these theories and their relation to other higher-curvature theories present in the literature.