694 research outputs found
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
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
A perspective on the landscape problem
I discuss the historical roots of the landscape problem and propose criteria
for its successful resolution. This provides a perspective to evaluate the
possibility to solve it in several of the speculative cosmological scenarios
under study including eternal inflation, cosmological natural selection and
cyclic cosmologies.Comment: Invited contribution for a special issue of Foundations of Physics
titled: Forty Years Of String Theory: Reflecting On the Foundations. 31
pages, no figure
Unification of gravity, gauge fields, and Higgs bosons
We consider a diffeomorphism invariant theory of a gauge field valued in a
Lie algebra that breaks spontaneously to the direct sum of the spacetime
Lorentz algebra, a Yang-Mills algebra, and their complement. Beginning with a
fully gauge invariant action -- an extension of the Plebanski action for
general relativity -- we recover the action for gravity, Yang-Mills, and Higgs
fields. The low-energy coupling constants, obtained after symmetry breaking,
are all functions of the single parameter present in the initial action and the
vacuum expectation value of the Higgs.Comment: 12 pages, no figures. v2 minor correction
Gravity from a fermionic condensate of a gauge theory
The most prominent realization of gravity as a gauge theory similar to the
gauge theories of the standard model comes from enlarging the gauge group from
the Lorentz group to the de Sitter group. To regain ordinary Einstein-Cartan
gravity the symmetry must be broken, which can be accomplished by known
quasi-dynamic mechanisms. Motivated by symmetry breaking models in particle
physics and condensed matter systems, we propose that the symmetry can
naturally be broken by a homogenous and isotropic fermionic condensate of
ordinary spinors. We demonstrate that the condensate is compatible with the
Einstein-Cartan equations and can be imposed in a fully de Sitter invariant
manner. This lends support, and provides a physically realistic mechanism for
understanding gravity as a gauge theory with a spontaneously broken local de
Sitter symmetry.Comment: 16 page
Holographic Formulation of Quantum Supergravity
We show that supergravity with a cosmological constant can be
expressed as constrained topological field theory based on the supergroup
. The theory is then extended to include timelike boundaries with
finite spatial area. Consistent boundary conditions are found which induce a
boundary theory based on a supersymmetric Chern-Simons theory. The boundary
state space is constructed from states of the boundary supersymmetric
Chern-Simons theory on the punctured two sphere and naturally satisfies the
Bekenstein bound, where area is measured by the area operator of quantum
supergravity.Comment: 30 pages, no figur
Bounce Conditions in f(R) Cosmologies
We investigate the conditions for a bounce to occur in
Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmologies for the class of fourth order gravity
theories. The general bounce criterion is determined and constraints on the
parameters of three specific models are given in order to obtain bounces
solutions. It is found that unlike the case of General Relativity, a bounce
appears to be possible in open and flat cosmologies.Comment: 11 pages LaTe
Graphical Evolution of Spin Network States
The evolution of spin network states in loop quantum gravity can be described
by introducing a time variable, defined by the surfaces of constant value of an
auxiliary scalar field. We regulate the Hamiltonian, generating such an
evolution, and evaluate its action both on edges and on vertices of the spin
network states. The analytical computations are carried out completely to yield
a finite, diffeomorphism invariant result. We use techniques from the
recoupling theory of colored graphs with trivalent vertices to evaluate the
graphical part of the Hamiltonian action. We show that the action on edges is
equivalent to a diffeomorphism transformation, while the action on vertices
adds new edges and re-routes the loops through the vertices.Comment: 24 pages, 21 PostScript figures, uses epsfig.sty, Minor corrections
in the final formula in the main body of the paper and in the formula for the
Tetrahedral net in the Appendi
The physical hamiltonian in nonperturbative quantum gravity
A quantum hamiltonian which evolves the gravitational field according to time
as measured by constant surfaces of a scalar field is defined through a
regularization procedure based on the loop representation, and is shown to be
finite and diffeomorphism invariant. The problem of constructing this
hamiltonian is reduced to a combinatorial and algebraic problem which involves
the rearrangements of lines through the vertices of arbitrary graphs. This
procedure also provides a construction of the hamiltonian constraint as a
finite operator on the space of diffeomorphism invariant states as well as a
construction of the operator corresponding to the spatial volume of the
universe.Comment: Latex, 11 pages, no figures, CGPG/93/
The linearization of the Kodama state
We study the question of whether the linearization of the Kodama state around
classical deSitter spacetime is normalizable in the inner product of the theory
of linearized gravitons on deSitter spacetime. We find the answer is no in the
Lorentzian theory. However, in the Euclidean theory the corresponding
linearized Kodama state is delta-functional normalizable. We discuss whether
this result invalidates the conjecture that the full Kodama state is a good
physical state for quantum gravity with positive cosmological constant.Comment: 14 pages, statement on the corresponding Yang-Mills case correcte
- …