In this paper, we make a close comparison of a covariant definition of an energy/entropy in general relativity, recently proposed by a collaboration including the present authors, with existing definitions of energies such as the one from the pseudo-tensor and the quasi-local energy. We show that existing definitions of energies in general relativity are conserved charges from the Noether's 2nd theorem for the general coordinate transformation, whose conservations are merely identities implied by the local symmetry and always hold without using equations of motion. Thus none of existing definitions in general relativity reflects the dynamical properties of the system, need for a physical definition of an energy. In contrast, our new definition of the energy/entropy in general relativity is generically a conserved non-Noether charge and gives physically sensible results for various cases such as the black hole mass, the gravitational collapse, and the expanding universe, while existing definitions sometimes lead to unphysical ones including zero and infinity. We conclude that our proposal is more physical than existing definitions of energies. Our proposal makes it possible to define almost uniquely the covariant and conserved energy/entropy in general relativity, which brings some implications to future investigations.
We revisit the thermodynamic aspects of the scalar-tensor theory of gravity in the Jordan and in the Einstein frame. Examining the {\it missing links} of this theory carefully, we establish the thermodynamic descriptions from the conserved currents and potentials by following both the Noether and the Abbott-Deser-Tekin (ADT) formalism. With the help of conserved Noether current and potential, we define the thermodynamic quantities, which we show to be {\it conformally invariant}. Moreover, the defined quantities are shown to fit nicely in the laws of (the first and the second) black hole therm…
A construction of conservation laws and conserved quantities for perturbations in arbitrary metric theories of gravity is developed. In an arbitrary field theory, with the use of incorporating an auxiliary metric into the initial Lagrangian covariantized Noether identities are carried out. Identically conserved currents with corresponding superpotentials are united into a family. Such a generalized formalism of the covariantized identities gives a natural basis for constructing conserved quantities for perturbations. A new family of conserved currents and correspondent superpotentials for pert…
The quantum effective action yields equations of motion and correlation functions including all quantum corrections. We discuss here how it encodes also Noether currents at the full quantum level. Interestingly, the construction can be generalized beyond the standard symmetry transformations that leave the action invariant. We also discuss an extended set of transformations, which change the action by a term that is locally known on the level of the quantum effective action. Associated to such extended gauge transformations are currents for which we obtain a divergence-type equation of motion,…
A general prescription for constructing quasi-local conserved quantities in General Relativity is proposed. The construction is applied to BMS symmetry generators in Newman-Unti gauge, so as to define quasi-local BMS charges. It is argued that the zero mode of this BMS charge is a promising definition of quasi-local energy.
Noether and Mei symmetries in static spherically symmetric quadratic gravity: variational consistency, constraints, and conserved curvature flux
The British University in Egypt（埃及英国大学）；North-West University（西北大学）；Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU)（伊马姆穆罕默德·本·沙特伊斯兰大学）；Fukushima University（福岛大学）
Geometrically the phase space of a mechanical system involves the co-tangent bundle of the configuration space. The phase space of a relativistic field theory is infinite dimensional and can be endowed with a symplectic structure defined in a perfectly co-variant manner that is very useful for discussing symmetries and conserved quantities of the system. In general relativity the symplectic structure takes Darboux form and it is shown in this work that the presence of a cosmological constant does not change this conclusion. For space-times that admit time-like Killing vectors the formalism can…
We derive the expressions for the local, on-shell closed co-dimension 2 forms in the Cartan formulation of general relativity and explicitly show their equivalence to those of the metric formulation.
Noether's 2nd theorem applied to a total system states that a global symmetry which is a part of local symmetries does not provide a physically meaningful conserved charge but it instead leads to off-shell constraints as a form of conserved currents. In this paper, we propose a general method to derive a matter conserved current associated with a special global symmetry in the presence of local symmetries. While currents derived from local symmetries of a matter sector with a covariant background gauge field are not conserved in general, we show that the current associated with a special type …
Double field theory is an approach for massless modes of string theory, unifying and geometrizing all gauge invariance in manifest $\mathbf{O}(D,D)$ covariant manner. In this approach, we derive off-shell conserved Noether current and corresponding Noether potential associated with unified gauge invariance. We add Wald-type counter two-form to the Noether potential and define conserved global charges as surface integral. We check our $\mathbf{O}(D,D)$ covariant formula against various string backgrounds, both geometric and non-geometric. In all cases we examined, we find perfect agreements wit…
The recently-developed techniques of Noether analysis of the quantum-group spacetime symmetries of some noncommutative field theories rely on the {\it ad hoc} introduction of some peculiar auxiliary transformation parameters, which appear to have no role in the structure of the quantum group. We here show that it is possible to set up the Noether analysis directly in terms of the quantum-group symmetry transformations, and we therefore establish more robustly the attribution of the conserved charges to the symmetries of interest. We also characterize the concept of "time independence" (as need…
In general relativity, the notion of mass and other conserved quantities at spatial infinity can be defined in a natural way via the Hamiltonian framework: Each conserved quantity is associated with an asymptotic symmetry and the value of the conserved quantity is defined to be the value of the Hamiltonian which generates the canonical transformation on phase space corresponding to this symmetry. However, such an approach cannot be employed to define `conserved quantities' in a situation where symplectic current can be radiated away (such as occurs at null infinity in general relativity) becau…
We derive the expressions for the local, on-shell closed co-dimension 2 forms in the Palatini formulation of general relativity and explicitly show their on-shell equivalence to those of the metric formulation. When compared to other first order formulations, two subtleties have to be addressed during the construction: off-shell non-metricity and the fact that the transformation of the connection under infinitesimal diffeomorphisms involves second order derivatives of the associated vector fields.
Mass and other conserved Noether charges are discussed for solutions of gravity theories with locally Anti-de Sitter asymptotics in 2n dimensions. The action is supplemented with a boundary term whose purpose is to guarantee that it reaches an extremum on the classical solutions, provided the spacetime is locally AdS at the boundary. It is also shown that if spacetime is locally AdS at spatial infinity, the conserved charges are finite and properly normalized without requiring subtraction of a reference background. In this approach, Noether charges associated to Lorentz and diffeomorphism inva…
A new formula for the conserved charges in 3+1 gravity for spacetimes with local AdS asymptotic geometry is proposed. It is shown that requiring the action to have an extremum for this class of asymptotia sets the boundary term that must be added to the Lagrangian as the Euler density with a fixed weight factor. The resulting action gives rise to the mass and angular momentum as Noether charges associated to the asymptotic Killing vectors without requiring specification of a reference background in order to have a convergent expression. A consequence of this definition is that any negative con…
A new prescription to calculate the total energies and angular momenta of asymptotically $(d+1)$-dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetimes is proposed. The method is based on an extension of the field theoretical approach to General Relativity to the case where there is an effective cosmological constant. A $(d-1)$-form $Ω$ is exhibited which, when integrated on asymptotic $(d-1)$-dimensional boundary surfaces, yields the values of those conserved quantities. The calculations are gauge independent once asymptotic conditions are not violated . Total energies and angular momenta of some known soluti…
A decade ago, a Lagrangian density has been proposed by the author where only the local symmetries of the Lorentz subgroup of (A)ds group is retained. This formalism has been found to produce some results encompassing that of standard Einstein-Hilbert formalism. In the present article, the conserved axial vector matter currents, constructed in some earlier paper, have been found to be a result of Noether's theorem. PACS: 04.20.Fy, 04.20.Cv, 11.40.-q Keywords: Torsion, Axial Current, Noether's Theorem
We construct the conserved charges (mass and angular momentum) of the Chern-Simons modified General Relativity in asymptotically flat and Anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetimes. Our definition is based on background Killing symmetries and reduces to the known expressions in the proper limits.
Using Noether's identities, we define a superpotential with respect to a background for the Einstein Gauss-Bonnet theory of gravity. As an example, we show that its associated conserved charge yields the mass-energy of a D-dimensional Gauss-Bonnet black hole in an anti-de Sitter spacetime.
We use the Noether symmetry approach to find $f(R)$ theory of $(2+1)$ dimensional gravity and $(2+1)$ dimensional black hole solution consistent with this $f(R)$ gravity and the associated symmetry. We obtain $f({R})=D_1 R({n}/{n+1})({R}/{K})^{1/n}+D_2 R+D_3$, where the constant term $D_3$ plays no dynamical role. Then, we find general spherically symmetric solution for this $f(R)$ gravity which is potentially capable of being as a black hole. Moreover, in the special case $D_1=0, D_2={1}$, namely $f(R)=R+D_3$, we obtain a generalized BTZ black hole which, other than common conserved charges $…
We extend the standard construction of conserved currents for matter fields in general relativity to general gauge theories. In the original construction the conserved current associated with a spacetime symmetry generated by a Killing field $h^μ$ is given by $\sqrt{-g}\,T^{μν}h_ν$, where $T^{μν}$ is the energy-momentum tensor of the matter. We show that if in a Lagrangian field theory that has gauge symmetry in the general Noetherian sense some of the elementary fields are fixed and are invariant under a particular infinitesimal gauge transformation, then there is a current $\mathcal{B}^μ$ th…
Using the Noether Charge formulation, we study a perturbation of the conserved gravitating system. By requiring the boundary term in the variation of the Hamiltonian to depend only on the symplectic structure, we propose a general prescription for defining quasi-local ``conserved quantities'' (i.e. in the situation when the gravitating system has a non-vanishing energy flux). Applications include energy-momentum and angular momentum at spatial and null infinity, asymptotically anti-deSitter spacetimes, and thermodynamics of the isolated horizons.
We report off-shell Noether currents obtained from off-shell Noether potentials for first-order general relativity described by $n$-dimensional Palatini and Holst Lagrangians including the cosmological constant. These off-shell currents and potentials are achieved by using the corresponding Lagrangian and the off-shell Noether identities satisfied by diffeomorphisms generated by arbitrary vector fields, local $SO(n)$ or $SO(n-1,1)$ transformations, `improved diffeomorphisms', and the `generalization of local translations' of the orthonormal frame and the connection. A remarkable aspect of our …
This review is dedicated to some modern applications of the remarkable paper written in 1918 by E. Noether. On a single paper, Noether discovered the crucial relation between symmetries and conserved charges as well as the impact of gauge symmetries on the equations of motion. Almost a century has gone since the publication of this work and its applications have permeated modern physics. Our focus will be on some examples that have appeared recently in the literature. This review is aim at students, not researchers. The main three topics discussed are (i) global symmetries and conserved charge…
We present the Lagrangian whose corresponding action is the trace K action for General Relativity. Although this Lagrangian is second order in the derivatives, it has no second order time derivatives and its behaviour at space infinity in the asymptotically flat case is identical to other alternative Lagrangians for General Relativity, like the gamma-gamma Lagrangian used by Einstein. We develop some elements of the variational principle for field theories with boundaries, and apply them to second order Lagrangians, where we stablish the conditions -- proposition 1 -- for the conservation of t…
This paper deals with the symmetry analysis of the Einstein Cartan theory which is an extension of the General Relativity and it accounts for the space-time torsion. We begin by applying Noether Theorem to the Lagrangian of the FRW type cosmology with torsion and choose a point transformation: $(a,ϕ,N)\rightarrow(u,v,W)$, such that one of the transformed variable is cyclic for the Lagrangian. Then using the conserved charge, which is obtained by applying Noether theorem, and the constant of motion, we get the solutions and conclude that due to the presence of torsion the FRW type cosmology is …
Nilpotent Symmetries and Conserved Charges: BRST-Quantized Version of the 4D Abelian 2-Form Gauge Theory
Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University（瓦拉纳西印度教大学科学研究所）；DST Centre for Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University（瓦拉纳西印度教大学科学研究所 DST 跨学科数学科学中心）
The problem of finding a formulation of Noether's theorem in noncommutative geometry is very important in order to obtain conserved currents and charges for particles in noncommutative spacetimes. In this paper, we formulate Noether's theorem for translations of kappa-Minkowski noncommutative spacetime on the basis of the 5-dimensional kappa-Poincare' covariant differential calculus. We focus our analysis on the simple case of free scalar theory. We obtain five conserved Noether currents, which give rise to five energy-momentum charges. By applying our result to plane waves it follows that the…
I exhibit the conflicting roles of Noether's two great theorems in defining conserved quantities, especially Energy in General Relativity and its extensions: It is the breaking of coordinate invariance through boundary conditions that removes the barrier her second theorem otherwise poses to the applicability of her first. There is nothing new here, except the emphasis that General must be broken down to Special Relativity in a special, but physically natural, way in order for the Poincare or other global groups such as (A)dS to "re-"emerge.
Explicit expressions are constructed for a locally conserved vector current associated with a continuous internal symmetry and for energy-momentum and angular-momentum density tensors associated with the Poincaré group in field theories with higher-order derivatives and in non-local field theories. An example of non-local charged scalar field equations with broken C and CPT symmetries is considered. For this case, we find simple analytical expressions for the conserved currents.
This paper is devoted to detailed investigations of free scalar field theory on $κ$-Minkowski space. After reviewing necessary mathematical tools we discuss in depth the Lagrangian and solutions of field equations. We analyze the spacetime symmetries of the model and construct the conserved charges associated with translational and Lorentz symmetry. We show that the version of the theory usually studied breaks Lorentz invariance in a subtle way: There is an additional trans-Planckian mode present, and an associated conserved charge (the number of such modes) is not a Lorentz scalar.
Famously, Klein and Einstein were embroiled in an epistolary dispute over whether General Relativity has any physically meaningful conserved quantities. In this paper, we explore the consequences of Noether's second theorem for this debate, and connect it to Einstein's search for a `substantive' version of general covariance as well as his quest to extend the Principle of Relativity. We will argue that Noether's second theorem provides a clear way to distinguish between theories in which gauge or diffeomorphism symmetry is doing real work in defining charges, as opposed to cases in which this …
For a field theory that is invariant under diffeomorphisms there is a subtle interplay between symmetries, conservation laws and the phase space of the theory. The natural language for describing these ideas is that of differential forms and both differential forms on space-time and differential forms on the infinite dimensional space of solutions of the equations of motion of the field theory play an important role. There are exterior derivatives on both spaces and together they weave a double differential complex which captures the cohomology of the theory. This is important in the definitio…
Criticality represents a specific point in the parameter space of a higher-derivative gravity theory, where the linearized field equations become degenerate. In 4D Critical Gravity, the Lagrangian contains a Weyl-squared term, which does not modify the asymptotic form of the curvature. The Weyl$^{2}$ coupling is chosen such that it eliminates the massive scalar mode and it renders the massive spin-2 mode massless. In doing so, the theory turns consistent around the critical point. Here, we employ the Noether-Wald method to derive the conserved quantities for the action of Critical Gravity. It …
We show that Belinfante construction of an improved energy-momentum tensor can be carried over to curved backgrounds, in analogy to the case of flat spacetime. The results hold irrespective of the background being dynamical or a fixed, non-backreacting one. It turns out that the analogous would-be canonical energy-momentum tensor is not covariantly conserved in general, but its Belinfante "improvement" is. We relate this last tensor with the Hilbert tensor obtained by functionally derivating the Lagrangian with respect to the metric. When the background in non-dynamical, we discuss some issues…
A fundamental tenet of gauge theory is that physical quantities should be gauge-invariant. This prompts the question: can gauge symmetries have physical significance? On one hand, the Noether theorems relate conserved charges to symmetries, endowing the latter with physical significance, though this significance is sometimes taken as indirect. But for theories in spatially finite and bounded regions, the standard Noether charges are not gauge-invariant. I here argue that gauge-\emph{variance} of charges is tied to the nature of the non-locality within gauge theories. I will flesh out these lin…
We develop a general approach, based on the Lagrange-Noether machinery, to the definition of invariant conserved currents for gravity theories with general coordinate and local Lorentz symmetries. In this framework, every vector field ξon spacetime generates, in any dimension n, for any Lagrangian of gravitational plus matter fields and for any (minimal or nonminimal) type of interaction, a current J[ξ] with the following properties: (1) the current (n-1)-form J[ξ] is constructed from the Lagrangian and the generalized field momenta, (2) it is conserved, d J[ξ] = 0, when the field equations ar…
The Noether theorem for Hamiltonian constrained systems is revisited. In particular, our review presents a novel method to show that the gauge transformations are generated by the conserved quantities associated with the first class constraints. We apply our results to the relativistic point particle, to the Friedberg et al. model and, with special emphasis, to two time physics.
We consider extensions of General Relativity based on the non-local function $f(R, \Box^{-1} R)$, where $R$ is the Ricci curvature scalar and the non-locality is due to the term $\Box^{-1} R$. We focus on cosmological minisuperspaces and select viable models by the Noether Symmetry Approach. Then we find viable exact solutions pointing out the role of non-locality in cosmology.
We present a precise definition of a conserved quantity from an arbitrary covariantly conserved current available in a general curved spacetime with Killing vectors. This definition enables us to define energy and momentum for matter by the volume integral. As a result we can compute charges of Schwarzschild and BTZ black holes by the volume integration of a delta function singularity. Employing the definition we also compute the total energy of a static compact star. It contains both the gravitational mass known as the Misner-Sharp mass in the Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation and the gravitationa…
We present a variational approach for relativistic ideal hydrodynamics interacting with electromagnetic fields. The momentum of fluid is introduced as the canonical conjugate variable of the position of a fluid element, which coincides with the conserved quantity derived from the Noether theorem. We further show that our formulation can reproduce the usual electromagnetic hydrodynamics which is obtained so as to satisfy the conservation of the inertia of fluid motion.
Abelian 2-Form Gauge Theory: Basic Canonical Brackets and Nilpotency Property of the Noether (Anti-)BRST Charges
Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University（贝拿勒斯印度教大学理学院）；DST Centre for Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University（贝拿勒斯印度教大学理学院 DST 交叉数学科学中心）
In the first order formalism of gravity theories, there are some theories which are not Lorentz-diffeomorphism covariant. In the framework of such theories we cannot apply the method of conserved charge calculation used in Lorentz-diffeomorphism covariant theories. In this paper we firstly introduce the total variation of a quantity due to an infinitesimal Lorentz-diffeomorphism transformation. Secondly, in order to obtain the conserved charges of Lorentz-diffeomorphism non-covariant theories, we extend the Tachikawa method \cite{3}. This extension includes not only Lorentz gauge transformatio…
Electromagnetism contains an infinite dimensional symmetry group of large gauge transformations. This gives rise to an infinite number of conserved quantities called "soft charges" via Noether's theorem. When charged particles scatter, the conservation of soft charge constrains the overall amount of radiation emitted per angle. Here we describe the physical consequences of soft charge conservation and give fresh accounts of the roles of spacelike and timelike infinity in these conservation laws. We conclude by exploring the possibility of creating a dual boundary theory of electromagnetism.
In a series of previous articles by the author, it was shown that one could effectively give a variational formulation to non-conservative mechanical systems, as well as ones that subject to non-holonomic constraints by starting with the virtual work functional instead of an action functional. In this article, it is shown that when one starts with a virtual work functional that is not exact, so it does not admit an action functional, instead of conservation laws the extension of Noether's theorem gives balance principles for non-conserved currents. Examples of this generalized Noether identity…
The connection between symmetries and conservation laws as made by Noether's theorem is extended to the context of causal variational principles and causal fermion systems. Different notions of continuous symmetries are introduced. It is proven that these symmetries give rise to corresponding conserved quantities, expressed in terms of so-called surface layer integrals. In a suitable limiting case, the Noether-like theorems for causal fermion systems reproduce charge conservation and the conservation of energy and momentum in Minkowski space. Thus the conservation of charge and energy-momentum…
A \star-product is defined via a set of commuting vector fields X_a = e_a^μ(x) \partial_μ, and used in a phi^*4 theory coupled to the e_a^μ(x) fields. The \star-product is dynamical, and the vacuum solution phi =0, e_a^μ(x)=delta_a^μreproduces the usual Moyal product. The action is invariant under rigid translations and Lorentz rotations, and the conserved energy-momentum and angular momentum tensors are explicitly derived.
The scalar-tensor theories have become popular recently in particular in connection with attempts to explain present accelerated expansion of the universe, but they have been considered as a natural extension of general relativity long time ago. The Horndeski scalar-tensor theory involving four invariantly defined Lagrangians is a natural choice since it implies field equations involving at most second derivatives. Following the formalisms of defining covariant global quantities and conservation laws for perturbations of spacetimes in standard general relativity we extend these methods to the …
