We propose a definition for background (in)/dependence in dynamical theories of the evolution of configurations that have a continuous symmetry and test this definition on particle models and on gravity. Our definition draws from Barbour's best-matching framework developed for the purpose of implementing spatial and temporal relationalism. Among other interesting theories, general relativity can be derived within this framework in novel ways. We study the detailed canonical structure of a wide range of best matching theories and show that their actions must have a local gauge symmetry. When gauge theory is derived in this way, we obtain at the same time a conceptual framework for distinguishing between background dependent and independent theories. Gauge invariant observables satisfying Kuchar's criterion are identified and, in simple cases, explicitly computed. We propose a procedure for inserting a global background time into temporally relational theories. Interestingly, using this procedure in general relativity leads to unimodular gravity.
Intuitively speaking, a classical field theory is background-independent if the structure required to make sense of its equations is itself subject to dynamical evolution, rather than being imposed ab initio. The aim of this paper is to provide an explication of this intuitive notion. Background-independence is not a not formal property of theories: the question whether a theory is background-independent depends upon how the theory is interpreted. Under the approach proposed here, a theory is fully background-independent relative to an interpretation if each physical possibility corresponds to…
We consider two concepts often discussed as significant features of general relativity (particularly when contrasted with the other forces of the Standard Model): background independence and diffeomorphism invariance. We remind the reader of the role of backgrounds both as calculational tools and as part of the formulation of theories. Examining familiar gauge theory constructions, we are able to pinpoint when in the formulation of these theories they become background independent. We then discuss extending the gauge formulation to gravity. In doing so we are able to identify what makes genera…
This paper concerns what Background Independence itself is (as opposed to some particular physical theory that is background independent). The notions presented mostly arose from a layer-by-layer analysis of the facets of the Problem of Time in Quantum Gravity. Part of this coincides with two relational postulates which are thus identified as classical precursors of two of the facets of the Problem of Time. These are furthemore tied to the forms of each of the GR Hamiltonian and momentum constraints. Other aspects of Background Independence include the algebraic closure of these constraints, e…
We describe the definition and the role background independence and the closely related notion of diffeomorphism invariance play in modern string theory. These important concepts are transformed by a new understanding of gauge redundancies and their implementation in non-perturbative quantum field theory and quantum gravity. This new understanding also suggests a new role for the so-called background-independent approaches to directly quantize the gravitational field. This article is intended for a general audience, and is based on a plenary talk given in the Loops 2007 conference in Morelia, …
In the first part of this paper I review some of the difficulties that seem to obstruct generally valid definitions of "general covariance" and/or "background independence" The second and more historical part deals with a rather strange argument that Einstein put forward in his 1913 "Entwurf paper" with M. Grossmann to discredit scalar theories of gravity in order to promote general covariance.
We study how physical information can be extracted from a background independent quantum system. We use an extremely simple `minimalist' system that models a finite region of 3d euclidean quantum spacetime with a single equilateral tetrahedron. We show that the physical information can be expressed as a boundary amplitude. We illustrate how the notions of "evolution" in a boundary proper-time and "vacuum" can be extracted from the background independent dynamics.
The Lie claw digraph has recently been shown to control Background Independence and thus both the Problem of Time and the nature of Physical Law. This is established for Flat and Differential Geometry with varying amounts of extra mathematical structure. This Lie claw digraph has Generator Closure at its centre, Relationalism at its root, and Assignment of Observables and Constructability from Less Structure Assumed (working if Deformation leads to Rigidity) on its other leaves. The centre is enabled by automorphisms and powered by the Lie Algorithm generalization of the Dirac Algorithm (itsel…
The history of general relativity suggests that in absence of experimental data, constructing a theory on philosophical first principles can lead to a very useful theory as well as to ground-breaking insights about physical reality. The two related concepts of general covariance and background independence are some of these principles and play a central role in general relativity. A definition for them will be proposed and discussed. Constructing a theory of quantum gravity -- the sought-after unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics -- could profit from the same approach. Two p…
Given a family of world-sheet superconformal field theories related by marginal deformation, we can formulate superstring field theory based on any of these world-sheet theories. Background independence is the statement that these different superstring field theories are related to each other by field redefinition. We prove background independence of closed superstring field theory.
I lay out the problem of time facets as arising piecemeal from a number of aspects of background independence. Almost all of these already have simpler classical counterparts. This approach can be viewed as a facet by facet completion of the observation that Barbour-type relationalism is a background independent precursor to 2 of the 9 facets. That completion proceeds in an order dictated by the additional layers of mathematical structure required to support each. Moreover, the `nonlinear nature' of the interactions between the Problem of Time facets renders a joint study of them mandatory. Th…
Diffeomorphism invariance is sometimes taken to be a criterion of background independence. This claim is commonly accompanied by a second, that the genuine physical magnitudes (the "observables") of background-independent theories and those of background-dependent (non-diffeomorphism-invariant) theories are essentially different in nature. I argue against both claims. Background-dependent theories can be formulated in a diffeomorphism-invariant manner. This suggests that the nature of the physical magnitudes of relevantly analogous theories (one background free, the other background dependent)…
It is generally believed that a full-fledged theory of quantum gravity should exhibit background independence and diffeomorphism invariance. In its most general form, the latter comprises field redefinitions, which are diffeomorphisms in configuration space. We show that any path-integral approach to quantum gravity leads to a tension between these properties, such that they cannot hold simultaneously.
We discuss gauge background independence at the example of the charged Dirac field. We show that a perturbative version of background independence, termed perturbative agreement by Hollands and Wald, can be fulfilled, and discuss some of its consequences.
A local resolution of the Problem of Time has recently been given, alongside reformulation as a local theory of Background Independence. The classical part of this requires just Lie's Mathematics, much of which is basic: i) Lie derivatives to encode Relationalism. ii) Lie brackets for Closure giving Lie algebraic structures. iii) Observables defined by a Lie brackets relation, in the constrained canonical case as explicit PDEs to be solved using Lie's flow method, and themselves forming Lie algebras. iv) Lattices of constraint algebraic substructures induce dual lattices of observables subalge…
We discuss various basic conceptual issues related to coarse graining flows in quantum gravity. In particular the requirement of background independence is shown to lead to renormalization group (RG) flows which are significantly different from their analogs on a rigid background spacetime. The importance of these findings for the asymptotic safety approach to Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG) is demonstrated in a simplified setting where only the conformal factor is quantized. We identify background independence as a (the ?) key prerequisite for the existence of a non-Gaussian RG fixed point and…
We study the background scale independence in single-metric approximation to the functional renormalization group equation (FRGE) for quantum gravity and show that it is possible to formulate it without using higher-derivative gauge fixing in arbitrary dimensions if we adopt the Landau gauge and suitable cutoff scheme. We discuss this problem for both the linear and exponential splits of the metric into background and fluctuations. The obtained modified Ward identity for the global rescalings of the background metric can be combined with the FRGE to give a manifestly scale-invariant solution. …
Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam（阿姆斯特丹大学物理研究所）；Dutch Institute for Emergent Phenomena（荷兰涌现现象研究所）；Institute for Logic, Language and Computation, University of Amsterdam（阿姆斯特丹大学逻辑、语言与计算研究所）
Classical field theory is insensitive to the split of the field into a background configuration and a dynamical perturbation. In gauge theories, the situation is complicated by the fact that a covariant (w.r.t. the background field) gauge fixing breaks this split independence of the action. Nevertheless, background independence is preserved on the observables, as defined via the BRST formalism, since the violation term is BRST exact. In quantized gauge theories, however, BRST exactness of the violation term is not sufficient to guarantee background independence, due to potential anomalies. We …
Within the derivative expansion of conformally reduced gravity, the modified split Ward identities are shown to be compatible with the flow equations if and only if either the anomalous dimension vanishes or the cutoff profile is chosen to be power law. No solutions exist if the Ward identities are incompatible. In the compatible case, a clear reason is found for why Ward identities can still forbid the existence of fixed points; however, for any cutoff profile, a background independent (and parametrisation independent) flow equation is uncovered. Finally, expanding in vertices, the combined e…
A Local Resolution of the Problem of Time has recently been given, alongside reformulation as A Local Theory of Background Independence. The classical part of this can be viewed as requiring just Lie's Mathematics, albeit entrenched in subsequent topological and differential-geometric developments and extended to contemporary Physics' state spaces. We now widen this approach by mild recategorization to one based on Nambu's generalization of Lie's Mathematics, as follows. i) In this approach, the Lie derivative still suffices to encode Relationalism. ii) Closure is now assessed using the Nambu …
Kendall-type Shape(-and-Scale) Theory on $\mathbb{R}^d$ involves $N$ point configurations therein quotiented by some geometrically meaningful automorphism group. This occurs in Shape Statistics, the Classical and Quantum $N$-body Problem and as a model for many aspects of Generally Relativistic theories' Background Independence. Shape-and-Scale theory on the circle $\mathbb{S}^1$ is significant at the level of `rubber shapes' as 1 of only 3 classes of connected-without-boundary absolute spaces. It is also the first $\mathbb{T^d}$ and $\mathbb{RP}^d$ as well as the first sphere; spheres and tor…
The application of quantum theory to gravity is beset with many technical and conceptual problems. After a short tour d'horizon of recent attempts to master those problems by the introduction of new approaches, we show that the aim, a background independent quantum theory of gravity, can be reached in a particular area, 2d dilaton quantum gravity, without any assumptions beyond standard quantum field theory.
A local resolution of the Problem of Time has recently been given, alongside reformulation as a local theory of Background Independence. The classical part of this can be viewed as requiring just Lie's Mathematics, albeit entrenched in subsequent Topology and Differential Geometry developments and extended to the setting of contemporary Physics' state spaces. We now generalize this approach by mild recategorization to one based on Nijenhuis' generalization of Lie's Mathematics, as follows. 1) Relationalism is encoded using the Nijenhuis-Lie derivative. 2) Closure is assessed using the Schouten…
One of the many conceptual difficulties in the development of quantum gravity is the role of a background geometry for the structure of quantum field theory. To some extent the problem can be solved by the principle of local covariance. The principle of local covariance was originally imposed in order to restrict the renormalization freedom for quantum field theories on generic spacetimes. It turned out that it can also be used to implement the request of background independence. Locally covariant fields then arise as background independent entities.
Closed string theory exhibits an O(D,D) duality symmetry on tori, which in double field theory is manifest before compactification. I prove that to first order in $α'$ there is no manifestly background independent and duality invariant formulation of bosonic string theory in terms of metric, b-field and dilaton. To this end I use O(D,D) invariant second order perturbation theory around flat space to show that the unique background independent candidate expression for the gauge algebra at order $α'$ is inconsistent with the Jacobi identity. A background independent formulation exists instead fo…
We analyze the conceptual role of background independence in the application of the effective average action to quantum gravity. Insisting on a background independent renormalization group (RG) flow the coarse graining operation must be defined in terms of an unspecified variable metric since no rigid metric of a fixed background spacetime is available. This leads to an extra field dependence in the functional RG equation and a significantly different RG flow in comparison to the standard flow equation with a rigid metric in the mode cutoff. The background independent RG flow can possess a non…
One of the key ways in which quantum mechanics differs from relativity is that it requires a fixed background reference frame for spacetime. In fact, this appears to be one of the main conceptual obstacles to uniting the two theories. Additionally, a combination of the two theories is expected to yield non-classical, or "indefinite", causal structures. In this paper, we present a background-independent formulation of the process matrix formalism - a form of quantum mechanics that allows for indefinite causal structure - while retaining operationally well-defined measurement statistics. We do t…
Background Independence is the modern form of the relational side of the Absolute versus Relational Debate. Difficulties with its implementation form the Problem of Time. Its 9 facets - Isham and Kuchař's conceptual classification - correspond to 9 aspects of Background Independence as per the Author's classical-or-quantum theory-independent upgrade. 8 are local. The most significant arena for these is brackets algebra, the first 5 involving canonical constraints as follows. 1) Handling instantaneous gauge invariance. 2) Resolving its apparent timelessness. 3) Closure of 1-2)'s constraints. 4)…
In single-metric approximations to the exact renormalization group (RG) for quantum gravity, it has been not been clear how to treat the large curvature domain beyond the point where the effective cutoff scale $k$ is less than the lowest eigenvalue of the appropriate modified Laplacian. We explain why this puzzle arises from background dependence, resulting in Wilsonian RG concepts being inapplicable. We show that when properly formulated over an ensemble of backgrounds, the Wilsonian RG can be restored. This in turn implies that solutions should be smooth and well defined no matter how large …
The most momentous requirement a quantum theory of gravity must satisfy is Background Independence, necessitating in particular an ab initio derivation of the arena all non-gravitational physics takes place in, namely spacetime. Using the background field technique, this requirement translates into the condition of an unbroken split-symmetry connecting the (quantized) metric fluctuations to the (classical) background metric. If the regularization scheme used violates split-symmetry during the quantization process it is mandatory to restore it in the end at the level of observable physics. In t…
There is a precise sense in which the requirement of background independence suffices to uniquely select the kinematics of loop quantum gravity (LQG). Specifically, the fundamental kinematic algebra of LQG admits a unique diffeomorphism invariant state. Although this result has been established rigorously, it comes as a surprise to researchers working with other approaches to quantum gravity. The goal of this article is to explain the underlying reasons in a pedagogical fashion using geometrodynamics, keeping the technicalities at their minimum. This discussion will bring out the surprisingly …
Ostrogradsky's Theorem is Incompatible with Background Independence in Quantum Gravity
Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies, KEK（高能加速器研究机构粒子核物理研究所）；Department of Particle and Nuclear Physics, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)（高级研究院粒子核物理系）
We discuss the meaning of background independence in quantum theories of gravity where geometry and gravity are emergent and illustrate the possibilities using the framework of quantum causal histories.
In this paper we address two points concerning the Sachs-Wolfe effect: (i) the gauge independence of the observable temperature anisotropy, and (ii) a gauge-invariant expression of the effect considering the most general situation of hydrodynamic perturbations. The first result follows because the gauge transformation of the temperature fluctuation at the observation event only contributes to the isotropic temperature change which, in practice, is absorbed into the definition of the background temperature. Thus, we proceed without fixing the gauge condition, and express the Sachs-Wolfe effect …
We analyze the implications of the microlocal spectrum/Hadamard condition for states in a (linear) quantum field theory on a globally hyperbolic spacetime $M$ in the context of a (distributional) initial value formulation. More specifically, we work in a $3+1$-split $M\cong\mathbb{R}\timesΣ$ and give a bound, independent of the spacetime metric, on the wave front sets of the initial data for a quasi-free Hadamard state in the quantum field theory defined by a normally hyperbolic differential operator $P$ acting in a vector bundle $E\stackrelπ{\rightarrow}M$. This aims at a possible way to appl…
Recently, uniqueness theorems were constructed for the representation used in Loop Quantum Gravity. We explore the existence of alternate representations by weakening the assumptions of the so called LOST uniqueness theorem. The weakened assumptions seem physically reasonable and retain the key requirement of explicit background independence. For simplicity, we restrict attention to the case of gauge group U(1).
In a major advance and simplification of this field, we show that A Local Resolution of the Problem of Time - also viewable as A Local Theory of Background Independence - can at the classical level be described solely by of Lie's Mathematics. This comprises i) Lie derivatives to encode Relationalism, including via solving the generalized Killing equation. ii) Lie brackets to formulate Closure, via Lie's Algorithm suitably extended to accommodate Dirac and topological insights, producing generator Lie algebraic structures: Lie algebras or algebroids. iii) Observables defined by Lie brackets rel…
Treating the metric as a classical background field, we show that the cosmological constant does not run with the renormalization scale -- contrary to some claims in the literature.
We show that a class of topological field theories are quantum duals of the harmonic oscillator. This is demonstrated by establishing a correspondence between the creation and annihilation operators and non-local gauge invariant observables of the topological field theory. The example is used to discuss some issues concerning background independence and the relation of vacuum energy to the problem of time in quantum gravity.
We argue that the demand of background independence in a quantum theory of gravity calls for an extension of standard geometric quantum mechanics. We discuss a possible kinematical and dynamical generalization of the latter by way of a quantum covariance of the state space. Specifically, we apply our scheme to the problem of a background independent formulation of Matrix Theory.
Gravitational waves (GWs) induced by scalar curvature fluctuations are an important source of the cosmological GW background and a crucial counterpart of the primordial black hole scenario. However, doubts have been cast on the theoretically predicted induced GW spectrum due to its seeming gauge dependence. In this paper, we shed light on the gauge dependence issue of the induced GW spectrum in general cosmological backgrounds. First, inspired by the Hamiltonian formalism we provide very simple formulas for the tensor modes at second order in cosmological perturbation theory. We also emphasize…
