We derive for generally covariant theories the generic dependency of observables on the original fields, corresponding to coordinate-dependent gauge fixings. This gauge choice is equivalent to a choice of intrinsically defined coordinates accomplished with the aid of spacetime scalar fields. With our approach we make full contact with, and give a new perspective to, the "evolving constants of motion" program. We are able to directly derive generic properties of observables, especially their dynamics and their Poisson algebra in terms of Dirac brackets, extending earlier results in the literature. We also give a new interpretation of the observables as limits of canonical maps.
The symplectic geometry of a broad class of generally covariant models is studied. The class is restricted so that the gauge group of the models coincides with the Bergmann-Komar group and the analysis can focus on the general covariance. A geometrical definition of gauge fixing at the constraint manifold is given; it is equivalent to a definition of a background (spacetime) manifold for each topological sector of a model. Every gauge fixing defines a decomposition of the constraint manifold into the physical phase space and the space of embeddings of the Cauchy manifold into the background ma…
We investigate the correspondence between generally covariant higher derivative scalar-tensor theory and spatially covariant gravity theory. The building blocks are the scalar field and spacetime curvature tensor together with their generally covariant derivatives for the former, and the spatially covariant geometric quantities together with their spatially covariant derivatives for the later. In the case of a single scalar degree of freedom, they are transformed to each other by gauge fixing and recovering procedures, of which we give the explicit expressions. We make a systematic classificat…
This paper is an extended version of the talk given at 19th Texas Symposium of Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology, Paris, 1998. It reviews of some recent work; mathematical details are skipped. It is well-known that a choice of gauge in generally covariant models has a twofold pupose: not only to render the dynamics unique, but also to define the spacetime points. A geometric way of choosing gauge that is not based on coordinate conditions---the so-called covariant gauge fixing---is described. After a covariant gauge fixing, the dynamics is unique and the background manifold points are we…
Unimodular gravity (UG) is an interesting theory that may explain why the cosmological constant is extremely small, in contrast to general relativity (GR). The theory has only the transverse diffeomorphism invariance and this causes lots of debate as to the equivalence of UG to GR in the covariant quantization. We study the covariant BRST quantization of UG by gauge fixing only the transverse diffeomorphism and show that the remaining physical degrees of freedom are two, the same number as GR. This is achieved by using antisymmetric tensor ghost fields which automatically satisfy the transvers…
Taking clues from the recent construction of the covariant action for type II and heterotic string field theories, we construct a manifestly Lorentz covariant action for type IIB supergravity, and discuss its gauge fixing maintaining manifest Lorentz invariance. The action contains a (non-gravitating) free 4-form field besides the usual fields of type IIB supergravity. This free field, being completely decoupled from the interacting sector, has no physical consequence.
In this paper we revisit the nonmanifestly Lorentz-covariant canonical analysis of the Holst action with a cosmological constant. We take a viewpoint close to that of F. Cianfrani and G. Montani [Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 091301 (2009)] and realize that the solution of the second-class constraints that the authors provide is incomplete, thus not accounting for the correct local dynamics of general relativity. We then mend their approach by adding the missing degrees of freedom to the solution and give a complete description of the resulting theory, which preserves Lorentz invariance but turns out …
Diffeomorphism-induced symmetry transformations and time evolution are distinct operations in generally covariant theories formulated in phase space. Time is not frozen. Diffeomorphism invariants are consequently not necessarily constants of the motion. Time-dependent invariants arise through the choice of an intrinsic time, or equivalently through the imposition of time-dependent gauge fixation conditions. One example of such a time-dependent gauge fixing is the Komar-Bergmann use of Weyl curvature scalars in general relativity. An analogous gauge fixing is also imposed for the relativistic f…
We show how the Weyl anomaly generated by gauge fields, can be computed from manifestly gauge invariant and diffeomorphism invariant exact renormalization group equations, without having to fix the gauge at any stage. Regularisation is provided by covariant higher derivatives and by embedding the Maxwell field into a spontaneously broken $U(1|1)$ supergauge theory. We first provide a realisation that leaves behind two versions of the original $U(1)$ gauge field, and then construct a manifestly $U(1|1)$ supergauge invariant flow equation which leaves behind only the original Maxwell field in th…
The covariant formulation of teleparallel gravity theories must include the spin connection, which has 6 degrees of freedom. One can, however, always choose a gauge such that the spin connection is put to zero. In principle this gauge may affect counting of degrees of freedom in the Hamiltonian analysis. We show for general teleparallel theories of gravity, that fixing the gauge such that the spin connection vanishes in fact does not affect the counting of degrees of freedom. This manifests in the fact that the momenta of the Lorentz transformations which generate the spin connection are fully…
We discuss dynamics of massive Klein-Gordon fields in two-dimensional Anti-de Sitter spacetimes ($AdS_2$), in particular conserved quantities and non-modal instability on the future Poincaré horizon called, respectively, the Aretakis constants and the Aretakis instability. We find out the geometrical meaning of the Aretakis constants and instability in a parallel-transported frame along a null geodesic, i.e., some components of the higher-order covariant derivatives of the field in the parallel-transported frame are constant or unbounded at the late time, respectively. Because $AdS_2$ is maxim…
We give in this paper an explicit construction of the covariant quantization of the rank-two massless tensor field on de Sitter space (linear covariant quantum gravity on a de Sitter background). The main ingredient of the construction is an indecomposable representation of de Sitter group. We here make the choice of a specific simple gauge fixing. We show that our gauge fixing eliminates any infrared divergence in the two-point function for the traceless part of this field. But it is not possible to do the same for the pure trace part (conformal sector). We describe the related Krein space st…
Revisiting the relaxation of constraints in gauge theories
Centre for Theoretical Physics, the British University in Egypt（埃及不列颠大学理论物理中心）；Department of High Energy and Elementary Particle Physics, Saint Petersburg State University（圣彼得堡国立大学高能及基本粒子物理系）；Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute of National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute”（库尔恰托夫国家研究中心彼得堡核物理研究所）
We review on the models of gravity with a constraint by the Lagrange multiplier field. The constraint breaks general covariance or Lorentz symmetry in the ultraviolet region. We report on the $F(R)$ gravity model with the constraint and the proposal of the covariant (power-counting) renormalized gravity model by using the constraint and scalar projectors. We will show that the model admits flat space solution, its gauge-fixing formulation is fully developed, and the only propagating mode is (higher derivative) graviton, while scalar and vector modes do not propagate. The preliminary study of F…
Quantum field theory in curved spacetime may be defined either through a manifestly unitary canonical approach or via the manifestly covariant path integral formalism. For gauge theories, these two approaches have produced conflicting results, leading to the question of whether the canonical approach is covariant, and whether the path integral approach is unitary. We show the unitarity of the covariant U(1) Maxwell theory, defined via the Wick rotation of a Euclidean path integral. We begin by gauge-fixing the path integral, taking care with zero modes, large gauge transformations, and nontriv…
We provide a Hamiltonian analysis of the Mixmaster Universe dynamics showing the covariant nature of its chaotic behavior with respect to any choice of time variable. We construct the appropriate invariant measure for the system (which relies on the existence of an ``energy-like'' constant of motion) without fixing the time gauge, i.e. the corresponding lapse function. The key point in our analysis consists of introducing generic Misner-Chitré-like variables containing an arbitrary function, whose specification allows one to set up the same dynamical scheme in any time gauge.
A necessary condition for a generally covariant scalar-tensor theory to be ghostfree is that it contains no extra degrees of freedom in the unitary gauge, in which the Lagrangian corresponds to the spatially covariant gravity. Comparing with analysing the scalar-tensor theory directly, it is simpler to map the spatially covariant gravity to the generally covariant scalar-tensor theory using the gauge recovering procedures. In order to ensure the resulting scalar-tensor theory to be ghostfree absolutely, i.e., no matter if the unitary gauge is accessible, a further covariant degeneracy/constrai…
Restricting the covariant gravitational phase spaces to the manifold of parametrized families of solutions, the mass, angular momenta, entropies, and electric charges can be calculated by a single and simple method. In this method, which has been called "solution phase space method," conserved charges are unambiguous and regular. Moreover, assuming the generators of the charges to be exact symmetries, entropies and other conserved charges can be calculated on almost arbitrary surfaces, not necessarily horizons or asymptotics. Hence, the first law of thermodynamics would be a local identity rel…
Exact construction of superstring field theory in some background fields is very important. We construct the low energy NS-NS sector of superstring field action in the pp-wave background with the flux of NS-NS antisymmetric tensor field (NS-NS pp-wave) without gauge fixing up to the second-order where the action is world-sheet BRST invariant. Here we use the word "covariant" in a invariant theory for a symmetric transformation of the pp-wave background which is not the Lorentz transformation in the flat background. Moreover we prove the exact correspondence between this low energy action and t…
We investigate the ghostfree scalar-tensor theory with a timelike scalar field, with derivatives of the scalar field up to the third order and with the Riemann tensor up to the quadratic order. We build two types of linear spaces. One is the set of linearly independent generally covariant scalar-tensor monomials, the other is the set of linearly independent spatially covariant gravity monomials. We argue that these two types of linear space are isomorphic to each other in the sense of gauge fixing/recovering procedures. We then identify the subspaces in the spatially covariant gravity, which a…
The quantum field theoretic description of general relativity is a modern approach to gravity where gravitational force is carried by spin-2 gravitons. In the classical limit of this theory, general relativity as described by the Einstein field equations is obtained. This limit, where classical general relativity is derived from quantum field theory is the topic of this thesis. The Schwarzschild-Tangherlini metric, which describes the gravitational field of an inertial point particle in arbitrary space-time dimensions, $D$, is analyzed. The metric is related to the three-point vertex function …
A geometric formal method for perturbatively expanding functional integrals arising in quantum gauge theories is described when the spacetime is a compact riemannian manifold without boundary. This involves a refined version of the Faddeev-Popov procedure using the covariant background field gauge-fixing condition with background gauge field chosen to be a general critical point for the action functional (i.e. a classical solution). The refinement takes into account the gauge-fixing ambiguities coming from gauge transformations which leave the critical point unchanged, resulting in the absence…
The paper deals with the extension of the Weak Isolated Horizon (WIH) formulation to the non- minimally coupled Holst action. In the first part of the paper, we introduce the non- minimal scalar coupling of the Holst action and construct the covariant phase space of the theory. Using the covariant phase space, we prove the laws of black hole mechanics and show that with a gauge fixing, the symplectic structure on the horizon reduces to that of a U(1) Chern-Simons theory. The level of the Chern- Simons theory is shown to depend on the non-minimally coupled scalar field.
Poincaré gauge theories provide an approach to gravity based on the gauging of the Poincaré group, whose homogeneous part generates curvature while the translational sector gives rise to torsion. In this note we revisit the stability of the widely studied quadratic theories within this framework. We analyse the presence of ghosts without fixing any background by obtaining the relevant interactions in an exact post-Riemannian expansion. We find that the axial sector of the theory exhibits ghostly couplings to the graviton sector that render the theory unstable. Remarkably, imposing the absence …
We derive the interaction of fermions with a dynamical space-time based on the postulate that the description of physics should be independent of the reference frame, which means to require the form-invariance of the fermion action under diffeomorphisms. The derivation is worked out in the Hamiltonian formalism as a canonical transformation along the line of non-Abelian gauge theories. This yields a closed set of field equations for fermions, unambiguously fixing their coupling to dynamical space-time. We encounter, in addition to the well-known minimal coupling, anomalous couplings to curvatu…
The present thesis aims at providing a unified description of radiative phase spaces in General Relativity for any value of the cosmological constant using covariant phase space methods. We start by considering generic asymptotically locally (A)dS spacetimes with leaky boundary conditions in the Starobinsky/Fefferman-Graham gauge. The boundary structure is allowed to fluctuate and plays the role of source yielding some flux of gravitational radiation at the boundary. The holographic renormalization procedure is employed to obtain finite surface charges for the whole class of boundary diffeomor…
We provide a general technique for collectively analysing a manifestly covariant formulation of non-abelian gauge theories on both anti de Sitter as well as de Sitter spaces. This is done by stereographically projecting the corresponding theories, defined on a flat Minkowski space, onto the surface of the A(dS) hyperboloid. The gauge and matter fields in the two descriptions are mapped by conformal Killing vectors and conformal Killing spinors, respectively. A bilinear map connecting the spinors with the vector is established. Different forms of gauge fixing conditions and their equivalence ar…
In this paper, the two-point function of linearized gravitons on de Sitter (dS) space is presented. Technically, respecting the dS ambient space notation, the field equation is given by the coordinate-independent Casimir operators of the de Sitter group. Analogous to the quantization of the electromagnetic field in Minkowski space, the field equation admits gauge solutions. The notation allows us to exhibit the formalism of Gupta-Bleuler triplets for the present field in exactly the same manner as it occurs for the electromagnetic field. In this regard, centering on the spin-two part (the trac…
Unimodular gravity (UG) is an important theory which may explain the smallness of the cosmological constant. To get insight into the covariant quantization of UG, we discuss the BRST quantization of General Relativity (GR) with a cosmological constant in the unimodular gauge. We develop a novel way to gauge fix the transverse diffeomorphism (TDiff) and then further to fulfill the unimodular gauge. This process requires the introduction of an additional pair of BRST doublets which decouple from the physical sector together with the other three pairs of BRST doublets for the TDiff. We show that …
We present a general method for the analysis of the stability of static, spherically symmetric solutions to spherically symmetric perturbations in an arbitrary diffeomorphism covariant Lagrangian field theory. Our method involves fixing the gauge and solving the linearized gravitational field equations to eliminate the metric perturbation variable in terms of the matter variables. In a wide class of cases--which include f(R) gravity, the Einstein-aether theory of Jacobson and Mattingly, and Bekenstein's TeVeS theory--the remaining perturbation equations for the matter fields are second order i…
The Maxwell field with a general gauge fixing (GF) term is nontrivial, not only the longitudinal and temporal modes are mixed up in the field equations, but also unwanted consequences might arise from the GF term. We derive the complete set of solutions in de Sitter space, and implement the covariant canonical quantization which restricts the residual gauge transformation down to a quantum residual gauge transformation. Then, in the Gupta-Bleuler (GB) physical state, we calculate the stress tensor which is amazingly independent of the gauge fixing constant and is also invariant under the quant…
The problem of finding a covariant expression for the distribution and conservation of gravitational energy-momentum dates to the 1910s. A suitably covariant infinite-component localization is displayed, reflecting Bergmann's realization that there are infinitely many conserved gravitational energy-momenta. Initially use is made of a flat background metric (or rather, all of them) or connection, because the desired gauge invariance properties are obvious. Partial gauge-fixing then yields an appropriate covariant quantity without any background metric or connection; one version is the collectio…
We explore the relationship between the effective dynamics in standard loop quantum cosmology (LQC) based on holonomies and triads obtained from gauge-fixing fluxes, and a modification of LQC based on holonomies and gauge-covariant fluxes (referred to as gLQC). Both the models yield singularity resolution via a bounce because of non-perturbative quantum geometric effects resulting in a maximum for energy density. In LQC, the bounce is extremely well captured by a $ρ^2$ term in energy density with a negative sign which emerges as a non-perturbative modification to the classical Friedmann and Ra…
This thesis consists of three parts. In the first part we review the quantization of Yang-Mills theories and perturbative quantum gravity in curved spacetime. In the second part we calculate the Feynman propagators of the Faddeev-Popov ghosts for Yang-Mills theories and perturbative quantum gravity in the covariant gauge. In the third part we investigate the physical equivalence of covariant Wightman graviton two-point function with the physical graviton two-point function. The Feynman propagators of the Faddeev-Popov ghosts for Yang-Mills theories and perturbative quantum gravity in the covar…
