12 research outputs found
The G_2 sphere over a 4-manifold
We present a construction of a canonical G_2 structure on the unit sphere
tangent bundle S_M of any given orientable Riemannian 4-manifold M. Such
structure is never geometric or 1-flat, but seems full of other possibilities.
We start by the study of the most basic properties of our construction. The
structure is co-calibrated if, and only if, M is an Einstein manifold. The
fibres are always associative. In fact, the associated 3-form results from a
linear combination of three other volume 3-forms, one of which is the volume of
the fibres. We also give new examples of co-calibrated structures on well known
spaces. We hope this contributes both to the knowledge of special geometries
and to the study of 4-manifolds.Comment: 13 page
Dynamics of Scalar Field in Polymer-like Representation
In recent twenty years, loop quantum gravity, a background independent
approach to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics, has been widely
investigated. We consider the quantum dynamics of a real massless scalar field
coupled to gravity in this framework. A Hamiltonian operator for the scalar
field can be well defined in the coupled diffeomorphism invariant Hilbert
space, which is both self-adjoint and positive. On the other hand, the
Hamiltonian constraint operator for the scalar field coupled to gravity can be
well defined in the coupled kinematical Hilbert space. There are 1-parameter
ambiguities due to scalar field in the construction of both operators. The
results heighten our confidence that there is no divergence within this
background independent and diffeomorphism invariant quantization approach of
matter coupled to gravity. Moreover, to avoid possible quantum anomaly, the
master constraint programme can be carried out in this coupled system by
employing a self-adjoint master constraint operator on the diffeomorphism
invariant Hilbert space.Comment: 24 pages, accepted for pubilcation in Class. Quant. Gra
Spontaneous symmetry breaking in Loop Quantum Gravity
In this paper we investigate the question how spontaneous symmetry breaking
works in the framework of Loop Quantum Gravity and we compare it to the results
obtained in the case of the Proca field, where we were able to quantise the
theory in Loop Quantum Gravity without introducing a Higgs field. We obtained
that the Hamiltonian of the two systems are very similar, the only difference
is an extra scalar field in the case of spontaneous symmetry breaking. This
field can be identified as the field that carries the mass of the vector field.
In the quantum regime this becomes a well defined operator, which turns out to
be a self adjoint operator with continuous spectrum. To calculate the spectrum
we used a new representation in the case of the scalar fields, which in
addition enabled us to rewrite the constraint equations to a finite system of
linear partial differential equations. This made it possible to solve part of
the constraints explicitly.Comment: 24 pages, two appendix. v2 modified abstract, amended each section,
28 pages, two appendi
Non-commutative flux representation for loop quantum gravity
The Hilbert space of loop quantum gravity is usually described in terms of
cylindrical functionals of the gauge connection, the electric fluxes acting as
non-commuting derivation operators. It has long been believed that this
non-commutativity prevents a dual flux (or triad) representation of loop
quantum gravity to exist. We show here, instead, that such a representation can
be explicitly defined, by means of a non-commutative Fourier transform defined
on the loop gravity state space. In this dual representation, flux operators
act by *-multiplication and holonomy operators act by translation. We describe
the gauge invariant dual states and discuss their geometrical meaning. Finally,
we apply the construction to the simpler case of a U(1) gauge group and compare
the resulting flux representation with the triad representation used in loop
quantum cosmology.Comment: 12 pages, matches published versio
Background Independent Quantum Gravity: A Status Report
The goal of this article is to present an introduction to loop quantum
gravity -a background independent, non-perturbative approach to the problem of
unification of general relativity and quantum physics, based on a quantum
theory of geometry. Our presentation is pedagogical. Thus, in addition to
providing a bird's eye view of the present status of the subject, the article
should also serve as a vehicle to enter the field and explore it in detail. To
aid non-experts, very little is assumed beyond elements of general relativity,
gauge theories and quantum field theory. While the article is essentially
self-contained, the emphasis is on communicating the underlying ideas and the
significance of results rather than on presenting systematic derivations and
detailed proofs. (These can be found in the listed references.) The subject can
be approached in different ways. We have chosen one which is deeply rooted in
well established physics and also has sufficient mathematical precision to
ensure that there are no hidden infinities. In order to keep the article to a
reasonable size, and to avoid overwhelming non-experts, we have had to leave
out several interesting topics, results and viewpoints; this is meant to be an
introduction to the subject rather than an exhaustive review of it.Comment: 125 pages, 5 figures (eps format), the final version published in CQ