We present the effect of the quantum corrections on the Szekeres spacetime, a system important for the study of the inhomogeneities of the pre-inflationary era of the universe. The study is performed in the context of canonical quantisation in the presence of symmetries. We construct an effective classical Lagrangian and impose the quantum version of its classical integrals of motion on the wave function. The interpretational scheme of the quantum solution is that of Bohmian mechanics, in which one can avoid the unitarity problem of quantum cosmology. We discuss our results in this context.
We study the quantum corrections on the Szekeres system in the context of canonical quantization in the presence of symmetries. We start from an effective point-like Lagrangian with two integrals of motion, one corresponding to the Hamiltonian and the other to a second rank Killing tensor. Imposing their quantum version on the wave function results to a solution which is then interpreted in the context of Bohmian mechanics. In this semiclassical approach, it is shown that there is no quantum corrections, thus the classical trajectories of the Szekeres system are not affected at this level. Fin…
The Szekeres system is studied with two methods for the determination of conservation laws. Specifically we apply the theory of group invariant transformations and the method of singularity analysis. We show that the Szekeres system admits a Lagrangian and the conservation laws that we find can be derived by the application of Noether's theorem. The stability for the special solutions of the Szekeres system is studied and it is related with the with the Left or Right Painlevé Series which describes the expansions.
We show that Spatially Inhomogeneous (SI) and Irrotational dust models admit a \emph{6-dimensional algebra } of \emph{Intrinsic Conformal Vector Fields} (ICVFs) $\mathbf{X}_{α}$ satisfying $p_{a}^{c}p_{b}^{d}\mathcal{L}_{\mathbf{X}_{α}}p_{cd}=2ϕ(\mathbf{X}_{α})p_{ab}$ where $p_{ab}$ is the associated metric of the 2d distribution $\mathcal{X}$ normal to the fluid velocity $u^{a}$ and the radial unit spacelike vector field $x^{a}$. The Intrinsic Conformal (IC) algebra is determined for each of the curvature value $ε$ that characterizes the structure of the screen space $\mathcal{X}$. In additio…
We show that the Szekeres system with cosmological constant admits a sufficient number of conservation laws, which allow to claim the integrability of the system. The main novelty in this investigation is that we find that the unique attractor of the Szekeres system is the isotropic inhomogeneous de Sitter (-like) universe, contrary to the original system in which the attractors describe Kantowski-Sachs (-like) spacetimes. We also study the existence of quantum corrections and the emergence of classicality by considering the linear and quadratic conserved quantities at the quantum level. We pe…
For the Szekeres system which describes inhomogeneous and anisotropic spacetimes we make use of a point-like Lagrangian, which describes the evolution of the physical variables of the Szekeres model, in order to perform a canonical quantization and to study the quantum potentiality of the Szekeres system in the content of de Broglie--Bohm theory. We revise previous results on the subject and we find that for a specific family of trajectories with initial conditions which satisfy a constraint equation, there exists additional conservation laws for the classical Szekeres system which are used to…
The quantization of a real massless scalar field in a spacetime produced in a collision of two electromagnetic plane waves with constant wave fronts is considered. The background geometry in the interaction region, the Bell-Szekeres solution, is locally isometric to the conformally flat Bertotti-Robinson universe filled with a uniform electric field. It is shown that before the waves interact the Bogoliubov coefficients relating different observers are trivial and no vacuum polarization takes place. In the non- singular interaction region neutral scalar particles are produced with number of cr…
The Szekeres metric is an inhomogeneous cosmological model without any symmetries. The standard Riemann-type coordinates can be transformed into spherical-type coordinates, but the metric is no longer diagonal, and the constant "radius" 2-spheres, 2-hyperboloids or 2-planes are known to be "non-concentric". Since the transformation into spherical-type coordinates is "radius" dependent, we question whether these coordinates have the same orientation on each 2-surface. To answer this question, we set up an orthonormal tetrad (ONT), and investigate its variation. We find that a relative rotation …
We analyze type I vacuum solutions admitting an isometry whose Killing 2--form is aligned with a principal bivector of the Weyl tensor, and we show that these solutions belong to a family of type I metrics which admit a group $G_3$ of isometries. We give a classification of this family and we study the Bianchi type for each class. The classes compatible with an aligned Killing 2--form are also determined. The Szekeres-Brans theorem is extended to non vacuum spacetimes with vanishing Cotton tensor.
The spinfoam approach to quantum gravity rests on a "quantization" of BF theory using 2-complexes and group representations. We explain why, in dimension three and higher, this "spinfoam quantization" must be amended to be made consistent with the gauge symmetries of discrete BF theory. We discuss a suitable generalization, called "cellular quantization", which (1) is finite, (2) produces a topological invariant, (3) matches with the properties of the continuum BF theory, (4) corresponds to its loop quantization. These results significantly clarify the foundations - and limitations - of the sp…
In several of the class A Bianchi models, minisuperspaces admit symmetries. It is pointed out that they can be used effectively to complete the Dirac quantization program. The resulting quantum theory provides a useful platform to investigate a number of conceptual and technical problems of quantum gravity.
We give a short account of the quantisation of the Szekeres spacetime by considering the symmetries of a reduced action principle. This is an alternative approach than the one followed in the literature for the study of inhomogeneities, which is usually based on perturbations of an inhomogeneous field on the spacetime background. Here, we examine the emergence of classicality with an exact inhomogeneous solution. We check whether the two criteria for classicality are satisfied, that is the correlations on the phase space and decoherence. We verify that these two properties indeed hold, thus th…
We investigate two-dimensional higher derivative gravitational theories in a Riemann-Cartan framework and obtain the most general static black hole solutions in conformal coordinates. We also consider the hamiltonian formulation of the theory and discuss its symmetries, showing they are implemented by a non-linear generalizations of the 2-dimensional Poincaré algebra. Finally, we discuss the quantization in the Dirac formalism.
I construct lowest-energy representations of non-centrally extended algebras of Noether symmetries, including diffeomorphisms and reparametrizations of the observer's trajectory. This may be viewed as a new scheme for quantization. First classical physics is formulated as the cohomology of a certain Koszul-Tate (KT) complex, using not only fields and antifields but also their conjugate momenta. Then all fields are expanded in a Taylor series around the observer's present position, and terms of order higher than p are truncated. Finally, quantization is carried out by replacing Poisson brackets…
In this paper we consider introducing careful regularization in the quantization of Maxwell theory in the asymptotic null infinity. This allows systematic discussions of the commutators in various boundary conditions, and application of Dirac brackets accordingly in a controlled manner. This method is most useful when we consider asymptotic charges that are not localized at the boundary $u\to \pm \infty$ like large gauge transformations. We show that our method reproduces the operator algebra in known cases, and it can be applied to other space-time symmetry charges such as the BMS transformat…
We argue that quantum theory in curved spacetime should be invariant under the continuous spacetime symmetries thaat are connected with the identity. For typical warped-product spacetimes, we prove that such invariance can be actually implemented, at least at the level of first quantization. Our approach rests on a mode decomposition which is special to the context of warped spacetimes.
We analyze classical and quantum dynamics of a particle in 2d spacetimes with constant curvature which are locally isometric but globally different. We show that global symmetries of spacetime specify the symmetries of physical phase-space and the corresponding quantum theory. To quantize the systems we parametrize the physical phase-space by canonical coordinates. Canonical quantization leads to unitary irreducible representations of $SO_\uparrow (2.1)$ group.
A conditional symmetry is defined, in the phase-space of a quadratic in velocities constrained action, as a simultaneous conformal symmetry of the supermetric and the superpotential. It is proven that such a symmetry corresponds to a variational (Noether) symmetry.The use of these symmetries as quantum conditions on the wave-function entails a kind of selection rule. As an example, the minisuperspace model ensuing from a reduction of the Einstein - Hilbert action by considering static, spherically symmetric configurations and r as the independent dynamical variable, is canonically quantized. T…
Polymer quantization was discovered during the construction of Loop Quantum Cosmology. For the simplest quantum theory of one degree of freedom, the implications for dynamics were studied for the harmonic oscillator as well as some other potentials. For more degrees of freedom, the possibility of continuous, kinematic symmetries arises. While these are realised on the Hilbert space of polymer quantum mechanics, their infinitesimal versions are not supported. For an invariant Hamiltonian, these symmetry realizations imply infinite degeneracy suggesting that the symmetry should be spontaneously …
The purpose of this review is to provide a brief overview of some recent conceptual developments about possible criteria to guarantee the uniqueness of the quantization in a variety of situations that are found in cosmological systems. These criteria impose some conditions on the representation of a group of physically relevant linear transformations. Generally, this group contains any existing symmetry of the spatial sections. These symmetries may or may not be sufficient for the purpose of uniqueness and may have to be complemented with other remaining symmetries that affect the time directi…
In this work, the quantization of the most general Bianchi Type I geometry, with and without a cosmological constant, is considered. In the spirit of identifying and subsequently removing as many gauge degrees of freedom as possible, a reduction of the initial 6--dimensional configuration space is presented. This reduction is achieved by imposing as additional conditions on the wave function, the quantum version of the --linear in momenta-- classical integrals of motion (conditional symmetries). The vector fields inferred from these integrals induce, through their integral curves, motions in t…
We apply the topological quantization method to some gravitational fields which can be represented as generalized harmonic maps. This representation extends the well-known concept of harmonic maps and allows us to describe some solutions to the Einstein field equations as generalized strings, where the base space for the generalized harmonic map is a two-dimensional manifold. The results obtained here point to an incompatibility of the classical description of the gravitational field and its symmetries with a discretization of the parameters that enter in its description.
We present quantization of particle dynamics on one-sheet hyperboloid embedded in three dimensional Minkowski space. Taking account of all global symmetries enables unique quantization. Making use of topology of canonical variables not only simplifies calculations but also gives proper framework for analysis.
The well-known BTZ black hole solution of (2+1) Einstein's gravity, in the presence of a cosmological constant, is treated both at the classical and quantum level. Classically, the imposition of the two manifest local Killing fields of the BTZ geometry at the level of the full action results in a mini-superspace constraint action with the radial coordinate playing the role of the independent dynamical variable. The Noether symmetries of this reduced action are then shown to completely determine the classical solution space, without any further need to solve the dynamical equations of motion. A…
The main goal of this work is to explore the symmetries and develop the dynamics associated to a 3D Abelian BF model coupled to scalar fields submitted to a sigma model like constraint, at the classical and quantum levels. We apply to the present model the techniques of Loop Quantum Gravity, construct its physical Hilbert space and its observables.
We compare classical and quantum dynamics of a particle in the de Sitter spacetimes with different topologies to show that the result of quantization strongly depends on global properties of a classical system. We present essentially self-adjoint representations of the algebra of observables for each system. Quantization based on global properties of a classical system accounts properly its symmetries.
We use the conditional symmetry approach to study the $r$-evolution of a minisuperspace spherically symmetric model both at the classical and quantum level. After integration of the coordinates $t$, $θ$ and $ϕ$ in the gravitational plus electromagnetic action the configuration space dependent dynamical variables turn out to correspond to the $r$-dependent metric functions and the electrostatic field. In the context of the formalism for constrained systems (Dirac - Bergmann, ADM) with respect to the radial coordinate $r$, we set up a point-like reparameterization invariant Lagrangian. It is see…
On the basis of Fourier duality and Stone-von Neumann theorem, we will examine polymer-quantization techniques and modified uncertainty relations as possible 1-extraD compactification schemes for a phenomenological truncation of the extraD tower.
We examine the dependence of quantization on global properties of a classical system. Quantization based on local properties may lead to ambiguities and inconsistency between local and global symmetries of a quantum system. Our quantization method based on global characteristics has sound foundation. Presented results give insight into the nature of removable type singularity of spacetime at the quantum level.
According to the dS/CFT correspondence, correlators of fields generated during a primordial de Sitter phase are constrained by three-dimensional conformal invariance. Using the properties of radially quantized conformal field theories and the operator-state correspondence, we glean information on some points. The Higuchi bound on the masses of spin-s states in de Sitter is a direct consequence of reflection positivity in radially quantized CFT$_3$ and the fact that scaling dimensions of operators are energies of states. The partial massless states appearing in de Sitter correspond from the bou…
The Fock quantization of fields propagating in cosmological spacetimes is not uniquely determined because of several reasons. Apart from the ambiguity in the choice of the quantum representation of the canonical commutation relations, there also exists certain freedom in the choice of field: one can scale it arbitrarily absorbing background functions, which are spatially homogeneous but depend on time. Each nontrivial scaling turns out into a different dynamics and, in general, into an inequivalent quantum field theory. In this work we analyze this freedom at the quantum level for a scalar fie…
A major problem in the quantization of fields in curved spacetimes is the ambiguity in the choice of a Fock representation for the canonical commutation relations. There exists an infinite number of choices leading to different physical predictions. In stationary scenarios, a common strategy is to select a vacuum (or a family of unitarily equivalent vacua) by requiring invariance under the spacetime symmetries. When stationarity is lost, a natural generalization consists in replacing time invariance by unitarity in the evolution. We prove that, when the spatial sections are compact, the criter…
This is a collection of lectures given at the University of Heidelberg, especially but not exclusively for people who want to learn something about the canonical approach to quantum gravity, which is however not included in these lectures. They are about Dirac's general method to construct a quantum theory out of a classical theory, which has to be defined in terms of a Lagrangian. The classical Hamiltonian formalism is reviewed, with emphasis on the relation between constraints and gauge symmetries, and quantization is carried out without any kind of gauge fixing. The method is applied to thr…
A canonical transformation is performed on the phase space of a number of homogeneous cosmologies to simplify the form of the scalar (or, Hamiltonian) constraint. Using the new canonical coordinates, it is then easy to obtain explicit expressions of Dirac observables, i.e.\ phase space functions which commute weakly with the constraint. This, in turn, enables us to carry out a general quantization program to completion. We are also able to address the issue of time through ``deparametrization'' and discuss physical questions such as the fate of initial singularities in the quantum theory. We f…
In this paper we show that the spatially homogeneous Bianchi type I and Kantowski-Sachs cosmologies derived from the Brans-Dicke theory of gravity admit a supersymmetric extension at the quantum level. Global symmetries in the effective one-dimensional actions characterize both classical and quantum solutions. A wide family of exact wavefunctions satisfying the supersymmetric constraints are found. A connection with quantum wormholes is briefly discussed.
In this paper, the classical and quantum solutions of some axisymmetric cosmologies coupled to a massless scalar field are studied in the context of minisuperspace approximation. In these models, the singular nature of the Lagrangians entails a search for possible conditional symmetries. These have been proven to be the simultaneous conformal symmetries of the supermetric and the superpotential. The quantization is performed by adopting the Dirac proposal for constrained systems, i.e. promoting the first-class constraints to operators annihilating the wave function. To further enrich the appro…
The emergence of nontrivial symmetries for black holes minisuperspaces has been recently pointed out. These Noether symmetries possess non-null charges and hence map physical solutions to different ones. The symmetry group is isomorphic to the finite-dimensional Poincaré group ISO(2,1), whose irreducible representations are well known. This structure is used to build a consistent quantum theory of black hole minisuperspace. This has, among other consequences, the striking consequence of implying a continuous spectrum for the mass operator. Following loop quantum cosmology, we obtain a regulari…
In a recent Letter, we have pointed out that the linearized Einstein gravity in de Sitter (dS) spacetime besides the spacetime symmetries generated by the Killing vectors and the evident gauge symmetry also possesses a hitherto `hidden' local (gauge-like) symmetry which becomes anomalous on the quantum level. This gauge-like anomaly makes the theory inconsistent and must be canceled at all costs. In this companion paper, we first review our argument and discuss it in more detail. We argue that the cancelation of this anomaly makes it impossible to preserve dS symmetry in linearized quantum gra…
In this paper, based on the works of Capozziello et al., we have studied the Noether symmetry approach in the cosmological model with scalar and gauge fields proposed recently by Soda et al. The correct Noether symmetries and related Lie algebra are given according to the minisuperspace quantum cosmological model. The Wheeler-De Witt (WDW) equation is presented after quantization and the classical trajectories are then obtained in the semi-classical limit. The oscillating features of the wave function in the cosmic evolution recover the so-called Hartle criterion, and the selection rule in min…
