51 research outputs found
Hamiltonian Analysis of non-chiral Plebanski Theory and its Generalizations
We consider non-chiral, full Lorentz group-based Plebanski formulation of
general relativity in its version that utilizes the Lagrange multiplier field
Phi with "internal" indices. The Hamiltonian analysis of this version of the
theory turns out to be simpler than in the previously considered in the
literature version with Phi carrying spacetime indices. We then extend the
Hamiltonian analysis to a more general class of theories whose action contains
scalars invariants constructed from Phi. Such theories have recently been
considered in the context of unification of gravity with other forces. We show
that these more general theories have six additional propagating degrees of
freedom as compared to general relativity, something that has not been
appreciated in the literature treating them as being not much different from
GR.Comment: 10 page
Scalar-Tensor theories from Plebanski gravity
We study a modification of the Plebanski action, which generically
corresponds to a bi-metric theory of gravity, and identify a subclass which is
equivalent to the Bergmann-Wagoner-Nordtvedt class of scalar-tensor theories.
In this manner, scalar-tensor theories are displayed as constrained BF
theories. We find that in this subclass, there is no need to impose reality of
the Urbantke metrics, as also the theory with real bivectors is a scalar-tensor
theory with a real Lorentzian metric. Furthermore, while under the former
reality conditions instabilities can arise from a wrong sign of the scalar mode
kinetic term, we show that such problems do not appear if the bivectors are
required to be real. Finally, we discuss how matter can be coupled to these
theories. The phenomenology of scalar field dark matter arises naturally within
this framework.Comment: 21 page
Spherically symmetric black holes in minimally modified self-dual gravity
We discuss spherically symmetric black holes in the modified self-dual theory
of gravity recently studied by Krasnov, obtained adding a Weyl-curvature
dependent `cosmological term' to the Plebanski lagrangian for general
relativity. This type of modified gravity admits two different types of
singularities: one is a true singularity for the theory where the fundamental
fields of the theory, as well as the (auxiliary) spacetime metric, become
singular, and the other one is a milder "non-metric singularity" where the
metric description of the spacetime breaks down but the fundamental fields
themselves are regular. We first generalise this modified self-dual gravity to
include Maxwell's field and then study basic features of spherically symmetric,
charged black holes, with particular focus on whether these two types of
singularities are hidden or naked. We restrict our attention to minimal forms
of the modification, and find that the theory exhibits `screening' effects of
the electric charge (or `anti-screening', depending upon the sign of the
modification term), in the sense that it leads to the possibility of charging
the black hole more (or less) than it would be possible in general relativity
without exposing a naked singularity. We also find that for any (even
arbitrarily large) value of charge, true singularities of the theory appear to
be either achronal (non-timelike) covered by the hypersurface of a harmless
non-metric singularity, or simply hidden inside at least one Killing horizon.Comment: 42 pages, many colour figures. v2: discussion of the conformal
ambiguity improved, references added. v3: amended to match published versio
Quantum gravity as a group field theory: a sketch
We give a very brief introduction to the group field theory approach to
quantum gravity, a generalisation of matrix models for 2-dimensional quantum
gravity to higher dimension, that has emerged recently from research in spin
foam models.Comment: jpconf; 8 pages, 9 figures; to appear in the Proceedings of the
Fourth Meeting on Constrained Dynamics and Quantum Gravity, Cala Gonone,
Italy, September 12-16, 200
A New Class of Group Field Theories for 1st Order Discrete Quantum Gravity
Group Field Theories, a generalization of matrix models for 2d gravity,
represent a 2nd quantization of both loop quantum gravity and simplicial
quantum gravity. In this paper, we construct a new class of Group Field Theory
models, for any choice of spacetime dimension and signature, whose Feynman
amplitudes are given by path integrals for clearly identified discrete gravity
actions, in 1st order variables. In the 3-dimensional case, the corresponding
discrete action is that of 1st order Regge calculus for gravity (generalized to
include higher order corrections), while in higher dimensions, they correspond
to a discrete BF theory (again, generalized to higher order) with an imposed
orientation restriction on hinge volumes, similar to that characterizing
discrete gravity. The new models shed also light on the large distance or
semi-classical approximation of spin foam models. This new class of group field
theories may represent a concrete unifying framework for loop quantum gravity
and simplicial quantum gravity approaches.Comment: 48 pages, 4 figures, RevTeX, one reference adde
Group field theory formulation of 3d quantum gravity coupled to matter fields
We present a new group field theory describing 3d Riemannian quantum gravity
coupled to matter fields for any choice of spin and mass. The perturbative
expansion of the partition function produces fat graphs colored with SU(2)
algebraic data, from which one can reconstruct at once a 3-dimensional
simplicial complex representing spacetime and its geometry, like in the
Ponzano-Regge formulation of pure 3d quantum gravity, and the Feynman graphs
for the matter fields. The model then assigns quantum amplitudes to these fat
graphs given by spin foam models for gravity coupled to interacting massive
spinning point particles, whose properties we discuss.Comment: RevTeX; 28 pages, 21 figure
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