Effective field theory corrections to General Relativity

The project will use Effective Field Theory (EFT) as a framework for exploring deviations from General Relativity (GR). The only classical fields observed in Nature are the gravitational and electromagnetic fields. One can write down an EFT for these fields. This is conventional Einstein-Maxwell theory with higher derivative corrections. The leading corrections have four derivatives. Remarkably, field redefinitions can be used to write these in a form such that the equations of motion remain second order. This project will start by obtaining a well-posed formulation of these equations of motion. This will then be used to investigate how the EFT corrections affect standard results in GR, and possible observable effects in black hole spacetimes.