Quantization of the Interacting Non-Hermitian Higher Order Derivative Field

Abstract: The quantization of higher order time derivative theories including interactions is unclear. In this paper in order to solve this problem, we propose to consider a complex version of the higher order derivative theory and map this theory to a real first order theory. To achieve this relationship, the higher order derivative formulation must be complex since there is not a real canonical transformation from this theory to a real first order theory with stable interactions. In this manner, we work with a non-Hermitian higher order time derivative theory. To quantize this complex theory, we introduce reality conditions that allow us to map the complex higher order theory to a real one, and we show that the resulting theory is regularizable and renormalizable for a class of interactions.