Massive higher derivative gravity inD-dimensional anti–de Sitter spacetimes

We find the propagator and calculate the tree level scattering amplitude between two covariantly conserved sources in an anti--de Sitter background for the most general D-dimensional quadratic, four-derivative, gravity with a Pauli-Fierz mass. We also calculate the Newtonian potential for various limits of the theory in flat space. We show how the recently introduced three-dimensional New Massive Gravity is uniquely singled out among higher derivative models as a (tree level) unitary model and that its Newtonian limit is equivalent to that of the usual massive gravity in flat space.