A Rotating Black Hole Solution for Shape Dynamics

Shape dynamics is a classical theory of gravity which agrees with general relativity in many important aspects, but which possesses different gauge symmetries and can present some fundamental global differences with respect to Einstein spacetimes. Here, we present a general procedure for (locally) mapping stationary, axisymmetric general relativity solutions onto their shape dynamic counterparts. We focus in particular on the rotating black hole solution for shape dynamics and show that many of the properties of the spherically symmetric solution are preserved in the extension to the axisymmetric case: it is also free of physical singularities, it does not form a space-time at the horizon, and it possesses an inversion symmetry about the horizon which leads to us to interpret the solution as a wormhole.Comment: 13 page

Contact Geometry and Quantum Mechanics

We present a generally covariant approach to quantum mechanics in which generalized positions, momenta and time variables are treated as coordinates on a fundamental "phase-spacetime." We show that this covariant starting point makes quantization into a purely geometric flatness condition. This makes quantum mechanics purely geometric, and possibly even topological. Our approach is especially useful for time-dependent problems and systems subject to ambiguities in choices of clock or observer. As a byproduct, we give a derivation and generalization of the Wigner functions of standard quantum mechanics.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, LaTeX, references added, journal versio

Double Kerr-Schild spacetimes and the Newman-Penrose map

The Newman-Penrose map, which is closely related to the classical double copy, associates certain exact solutions of Einstein's equations with self-dual solutions of the vacuum Maxwell equations. Here we initiate an extension of the Newman-Penrose map to a broader class of spacetimes. As an example, we apply principles from the Newman-Penrose map to associate a self-dual gauge field to the Kerr-Taub-NUT-(A)dS spacetime and we show that the result agrees with previously studied examples of classical double copies. The corresponding field strength exhibits a discrete electric-magnetic duality that is distinct from its (Hodge star) self-dual property.Comment: 14 pages + reference

Dynamical Henneaux-Teitelboim Gravity

We consider a modified gravity model which we call "dynamical Henneaux-Teitelboim gravity" because of its close relationship with the Henneaux-Teitelboim formulation of unimodular gravity. The latter is a fully diffeomorphism-invariant formulation of unimodular gravity, where full diffeomorphism invariance is achieved by introducing two additional non-dynamical fields: a scalar, which plays the role of a cosmological constant, and a three-form whose exterior derivative is the spacetime volume element. Dynamical Henneaux-Teitelboim gravity is a generalization of this model that includes kinetic terms for both the scalar and the three-form with arbitrary couplings. We study the field equations for the cases of spherically symmetric and homogeneous, isotropic configurations. In the spherically symmetric case, we solve the field equations analytically for small values of the coupling to obtain an approximate black hole solution. In the homogeneous and isotropic case, we perturb around de Sitter space to find an approximate cosmological background for our model.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

A generalized Hartle-Hawking wavefunction

The Hartle-Hawking wave function is known to be the Fourier dual of the Chern-Simons or Kodama state reduced to mini-superspace, using an integration contour covering the whole real line. But since the Chern-Simons state is a general solution of the Hamiltonian constraint (with a given ordering), its Fourier dual should provide the general solution (i.e. beyond mini-superspace) of the Wheeler DeWitt equation representing the Hamiltonian constraint in the metric representation. We write down a formal expression for such a wave function, to be seen as the generalization beyond mini-superspace of the Hartle-Hawking wave function. Its explicit evaluation (or simplification) depends only on the symmetries of the problem, and we illustrate the procedure with anisotropic Bianchi models and with the Kantowski-Sachs model. A significant difference of this approach is that we may leave the torsion inside the wave functions when we set up the ansatz for the connection, rather than setting it to zero before quantization. This allows for quantum fluctuations in the torsion, with far reaching consequences.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure