37 research outputs found
Some remarks on singularities in quantum cosmology
We discuss to what extent classical singularities persist upon quantization
in two simple cosmological models.Comment: 4 pps., LaTeX2e. Substantial revisions. To appear in: Proc. of the
Second Conference on Constrained Dynamics and Quantum Gravity, Santa
Margherita Ligure, Italy, 17-21 September 1996. Edited by V. de Alfaro et a
Deformations of coisotropic submanifolds for fibrewise entire Poisson structures
We show that deformations of a coisotropic submanifold inside a fibrewise
entire Poisson manifold are controlled by the -algebra introduced by
Oh-Park (for symplectic manifolds) and Cattaneo-Felder. In the symplectic case,
we recover results previously obtained by Oh-Park. Moreover we consider the
extended deformation problem and prove its obstructedness
Tracing KAM tori in presymplectic dynamical systems
We present a KAM theorem for presymplectic dynamical systems. The theorem has
a " a posteriori " format. We show that given a Diophantine frequency
and a family of presymplectic mappings, if we find an embedded torus which is
approximately invariant with rotation such that the torus and the
family of mappings satisfy some explicit non-degeneracy condition, then we can
find an embedded torus and a value of the parameter close to to the original
ones so that the torus is invariant under the map associated to the value of
the parameter. Furthermore, we show that the dimension of the parameter space
is reduced if we assume that the systems are exact.Comment: 33 pages and one figur
Geometric Generalisations of SHAKE and RATTLE
A geometric analysis of the Shake and Rattle methods for constrained
Hamiltonian problems is carried out. The study reveals the underlying
differential geometric foundation of the two methods, and the exact relation
between them. In addition, the geometric insight naturally generalises Shake
and Rattle to allow for a strictly larger class of constrained Hamiltonian
systems than in the classical setting.
In order for Shake and Rattle to be well defined, two basic assumptions are
needed. First, a nondegeneracy assumption, which is a condition on the
Hamiltonian, i.e., on the dynamics of the system. Second, a coisotropy
assumption, which is a condition on the geometry of the constrained phase
space. Non-trivial examples of systems fulfilling, and failing to fulfill,
these assumptions are given
Ashtekar Variables in Classical General Realtivity
This paper contains an introduction into Ashtekar's reformulation of General
Relativity in terms of connection variables. To appear in "Canonical Gravity -
From Classical to Quantum", ed. by J. Ehlers and H. Friedrich, Springer Verlag
(1994).Comment: 31 Pages, Plain-Tex; Further comments were added, minor grammatical
changes made and typos correcte
Quantum cosmological perfect fluid model and its classical analogue
The quantization of gravity coupled to a perfect fluid model leads to a
Schr\"odinger-like equation, where the matter variable plays the role of time.
The wave function can be determined, in the flat case, for an arbitrary
barotropic equation of state ; solutions can also be found for
the radiative non-flat case. The wave packets are constructed, from which the
expectation value for the scale factor is determined. The quantum scenarios
reveal a bouncing Universe, free from singularity. We show that such quantum
cosmological perfect fluid models admit a universal classical analogue,
represented by the addition, to the ordinary classical model, of a repulsive
stiff matter fluid. The meaning of the existence of this universal classical
analogue is discussed. The quantum cosmological perfect fluid model is, for a
flat spatial section, formally equivalent to a free particle in ordinary
quantum mechanics, for any value of , while the radiative non-flat case
is equivalent to the harmonic oscillator. The repulsive fluid needed to
reproduce the quantum results is the same in both cases.Comment: Latex file, 13 page
On quantum mechanics with a magnetic field on R^n and on a torus T^n, and their relation
We show in elementary terms the equivalence in a general gauge of a
U(1)-gauge theory of a scalar charged particle on a torus T^n = R^n/L to the
analogous theory on R^n constrained by quasiperiodicity under translations in
the lattice L. The latter theory provides a global description of the former:
the quasiperiodic wavefunctions defined on R^n play the role of sections of the
associated hermitean line bundle E on T^n, since also E admits a global
description as a quotient. The components of the covariant derivatives
corresponding to a constant (necessarily integral) magnetic field B = dA
generate a Lie algebra g_Q and together with the periodic functions the algebra
of observables O_Q . The non-abelian part of g_Q is a Heisenberg Lie algebra
with the electric charge operator Q as the central generator; the corresponding
Lie group G_Q acts on the Hilbert space as the translation group up to phase
factors. Also the space of sections of E is mapped into itself by g in G_Q . We
identify the socalled magnetic translation group as a subgroup of the
observables' group Y_Q . We determine the unitary irreducible representations
of O_Q, Y_Q corresponding to integer charges and for each of them an associated
orthonormal basis explicitly in configuration space. We also clarify how in the
n = 2m case a holomorphic structure and Theta functions arise on the associated
complex torus. These results apply equally well to the physics of charged
scalar particles on R^n and on T^n in the presence of periodic magnetic field B
and scalar potential. They are also necessary preliminary steps for the
application to these theories of the deformation procedure induced by Drinfel'd
twists.Comment: Latex2e file, 22 pages. Final version appeared in IJT
On Relativistic Material Reference Systems
This work closes certain gaps in the literature on material reference systems
in general relativity. It is shown that perfect fluids are a special case of
DeWitt's relativistic elastic media and that the velocity--potential formalism
for perfect fluids can be interpreted as describing a perfect fluid coupled to
a fleet of clocks. A Hamiltonian analysis of the elastic media with clocks is
carried out and the constraints that arise when the system is coupled to
gravity are studied. When the Hamiltonian constraint is resolved with respect
to the clock momentum, the resulting true Hamiltonian is found to be a
functional only of the gravitational variables. The true Hamiltonian is
explicitly displayed when the medium is dust, and is shown to depend on the
detailed construction of the clocks.Comment: 18 pages, ReVTe
Variational and Geometric Structures of Discrete Dirac Mechanics
In this paper, we develop the theoretical foundations of discrete Dirac
mechanics, that is, discrete mechanics of degenerate Lagrangian/Hamiltonian
systems with constraints. We first construct discrete analogues of Tulczyjew's
triple and induced Dirac structures by considering the geometry of symplectic
maps and their associated generating functions. We demonstrate that this
framework provides a means of deriving discrete Lagrange-Dirac and nonholonomic
Hamiltonian systems. In particular, this yields nonholonomic Lagrangian and
Hamiltonian integrators. We also introduce discrete
Lagrange-d'Alembert-Pontryagin and Hamilton-d'Alembert variational principles,
which provide an alternative derivation of the same set of integration
algorithms. The paper provides a unified treatment of discrete Lagrangian and
Hamiltonian mechanics in the more general setting of discrete Dirac mechanics,
as well as a generalization of symplectic and Poisson integrators to the
broader category of Dirac integrators.Comment: 26 pages; published online in Foundations of Computational
Mathematics (2011
Quantum geometrodynamics: whence, whither?
Quantum geometrodynamics is canonical quantum gravity with the three-metric
as the configuration variable. Its central equation is the Wheeler--DeWitt
equation. Here I give an overview of the status of this approach. The issues
discussed include the problem of time, the relation to the covariant theory,
the semiclassical approximation as well as applications to black holes and
cosmology. I conclude that quantum geometrodynamics is still a viable approach
and provides insights into both the conceptual and technical aspects of quantum
gravity.Comment: 25 pages; invited contribution for the Proceedings of the seminar
"Quantum Gravity: Challenges and Perspectives", Bad Honnef, Germany, April
200