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Henneaux-Teitelboim form of the generalized unimodular gravity action

Dmitry Nesterov*

Ksenia Lyamkina

  • *Contact author: nesterov@lpi.ru
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 044061 – Published 24 February, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/hfy1-5d96

Abstract

We propose an alternative description of generalized unimodular gravity, extending the Henneaux-Teitelboim approach to unimodular gravity. The central feature of this formulation is the consistent incorporation of time reparametrization, which enhances the gauge structure and reveals a spatial nonlocality hidden in the dynamics of the original formulation. We examine the resulting dynamics, emphasizing the effects of spatial nonlocality, and outline the constraint structure. We show that the gauge symmetry in the gravitational sector is extended by a functionally incomplete symmetry, as occurs in the unimodular gravity. However, in contrast to the latter, the resulting action is not fully diffeomorphism invariant.

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Alternative action for generalized unimodular gravity

Dmitry Nesterov
Phys. Rev. D 113, 044062 (2026)

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 044061– Published 24 February, 2026
  • Received 22 May 2025
  • Accepted 2 December 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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