The Initial Value Formulation of Dynamical Chern-Simons Gravity

Abstract

We derive an initial value formulation for dynamical Chern-Simons gravity, a modification of general relativity involving parity-violating higher derivative terms. We investigate the structure of the resulting system of partial differential equations thinking about linearization around arbitrary backgrounds. This type of consideration is necessary if we are to establish well-posedness of the Cauchy problem. Treating the field equations as an effective field theory we find that weak necessary conditions for hyperbolicity are satisfied. For the full field equations we find that there are states from which subsequent evolution is not determined. Generically the evolution system closes, but the full field equations are in no sense hyperbolic. In a cursory mode analysis we find that the equations of motion contain terms that may cause ill-posedness of the initial value problem.Comment: 16 pages; matches published versio