Quantum holonomy theory

We present quantum holonomy theory, which is a non‐perturbative theory of quantum gravity coupled to fermionic degrees of freedom. The theory is based on a ‐algebra that involves holonomy‐diffeo‐morphisms on a 3‐dimensional manifold and which encodes the canonical commutation relations of canonical quantum gravity formulated in terms of Ashtekar variables. Employing a Dirac type operator on the configuration space of Ashtekar connections we obtain a semi‐classical state and a kinematical Hilbert space via its GNS construction. We use the Dirac type operator, which provides a metric structure over the space of Ashtekar connections, to define a scalar curvature operator, from which we obtain a candidate for a Hamilton operator. We show that the classical Hamilton constraint of general relativity emerges from this in a semi‐classical limit and we then compute the operator constraint algebra. Also, we find states in the kinematical Hilbert space on which the expectation value of the Dirac type operator gives the Dirac Hamiltonian in a semi‐classical limit and thus provides a connection to fermionic quantum field theory. Finally, an almost‐commutative algebra emerges from the holonomy‐diffeomorphism algebra in the same limit.     

Local and Non-Local Aspects of Quantum Gravity

The analysis of the measurement of gravitational fields leads to the Rosenfeld inequalities. They say that, as an implication of the equivalence of the inertial and passive gravitational masses of the test body, the metric cannot be attributed to an operator that is defined in the frame of a local canonical quantum field theory. This is true for any theory containing a metric, independently of the geometric framework under consideration and the way one introduces the metric in it. Thus, to establish a local quantum field theory of gravity one has to transit to non-Riemann geometry that contains (beside or instead of the metric) other geometric quantities. From this view, we discuss a Riemann–Cartan and an affine model of gravity and show them to be promising candidates of a theory of canonical quantum gravity.     

Vertex Operators in 4D Quantum Gravity Formulated as CFT

We study vertex operators in 4D conformal field theory derived from quantized gravity, whose dynamics is governed by the Wess-Zumino action by Riegert and the Weyl action. Conformal symmetry is equal to diffeomorphism symmetry in the ultraviolet limit, which mixes positive-metric and negative-metric modes of the gravitational field and thus these modes cannot be treated separately in physical operators. In this paper, we construct gravitational vertex operators such as the Ricci scalar, defined as space-time volume integrals of them are invariant under conformal transformations. Short distance singularities of these operator products are computed and it is shown that their coefficients have physically correct signs. Furthermore, we show that conformal algebra holds even in the system perturbed by the cosmological constant vertex operator as in the case of the Liouville theory shown by Curtright and Thorn.     

Quantum holonomy theory and hilbert space representations

We present a new formulation of quantum holonomy theory, which is a candidate for a non‐perturbative and background independent theory of quantum gravity coupled to matter and gauge degrees of freedom. The new formulation is based on a Hilbert space representation of the algebra, which is generated by holonomy‐diffeomorphisms on a 3‐dimensional manifold and by canonical translation operators on the underlying configuration space over which the holonomy‐diffeomorphisms form a non‐commutative ‐algebra. A proof that the state that generates the representation exist is left for later publications.     

Stochastic and quantum space-time metrics and the weak-field limit

In this review we present a simple method of introducing stochastic and quantum metrics into gravitational theory at short distances in terms of small fluctuations around a classical background space-time. We consider only residual effects due to the stochastic (or quantum) theory of gravity and use a perturbative stochastization (or quantization) method. By using the general covariance and correspondence principles, we reconstruct the theory of gravitational, mechanical, electromagnetic, and quantum mechanical processes and tensor algebra in the space-time with stochastic and quantum metrics. Some consequences of the theory are also considered, in particular, it indicates that the value of the fundamental lengthl lies in the interval 10^–23l10^–22 cm.     

Uniqueness of Diffeomorphism Invariant States on Holonomy–Flux Algebras

Loop quantum gravity is an approach to quantum gravity that starts from the Hamiltonian formulation in terms of a connection and its canonical conjugate. Quantization proceeds in the spirit of Dirac: First one defines an algebra of basic kinematical observables and represents it through operators on a suitable Hilbert space. In a second step, one implements the constraints. The main result of the paper concerns the representation theory of the kinematical algebra: We show that there is only one cyclic representation invariant under spatial diffeomorphisms.While this result is particularly important for loop quantum gravity, we are rather general: The precise definition of the abstract *-algebra of the basic kinematical observables we give could be used for any theory in which the configuration variable is a connection with a compact structure group. The variables are constructed from the holonomy map and from the fluxes of the momentum conjugate to the connection. The uniqueness result is relevant for any such theory invariant under spatial diffeomorphisms or being a part of a diffeomorphism invariant theory.     

Comprehensive solution to the cosmological constant,zero-point energy,and quantum gravity problems

We present a solution to the cosmological constant, the zero-point energy, and the quantum gravity problems within a single comprehensive framework. We show that in quantum theories of gravity in which the zero-point energy density of the gravitational field is well-defined, the cosmological constant and zero-point energy problems solve each other by mutual cancellation between the cosmological constant and the matter and gravitational field zero-point energy densities. Because of this cancellation, regulation of the matter field zero-point energy density is not needed, and thus does not cause any trace anomaly to arise. We exhibit our results in two theories of gravity that are well-defined quantum-mechanically. Both of these theories are locally conformal invariant, quantum Einstein gravity in two dimensions and Weyl-tensor-based quantum conformal gravity in four dimensions (a fourth-order derivative quantum theory of the type that Bender and Mannheim have recently shown to be ghost-free and unitary). Central to our approach is the requirement that any and all departures of the geometry from Minkowski are to be brought about by quantum mechanics alone. Consequently, there have to be no fundamental classical fields, and all mass scales have to be generated by dynamical condensates. In such a situation the trace of the matter field energy-momentum tensor is zero, a constraint that obliges its cosmological constant and zero-point contributions to cancel each other identically, no matter how large they might be. In our approach quantization of the gravitational field is caused by its coupling to quantized matter fields, with the gravitational field not needing any independent quantization of its own. With there being no a priori classical curvature, one does not have to make it compatible with quantization.     

On gravitational dressing of 2D field theories in chiral gauge

After giving a pedagogical review of the chiral gauge approach to 2D gravity, with particular emphasis on the derivation of the gravitational Ward identities, we discuss in some detail the interpretation of matter correlation functions coupled to gravity in chiral gauge. We argue that in chiral gauge no explicit gravitational dressing factor, analogue to the Lionville exponential in conformal gauge, is necessary for left-right symmetric matter operators. In particular, we examine the gravitationally dressed four-point correlation function of products of left and right fermions. We solve the corresponding gravitational Ward identity exactly: in the presence of gravity this four-point function exhibits a logarithmic short-distance singularity, instead of the power-law singularity in the absence of gravity. This rather surprising effect is non-perturbative in the gravitational coupling and is a sign for logarithms in the gravitationally dressed operator product expansions. We also discuss some perturbative evidence that the chiral Gross-Neveu model may remain integrable when coupled to gravity.     

Octonionic Yang–Mills instanton on quaternionic line bundle of Spin(7) holonomy

The total space of the spinor bundle on the four-dimensional sphere S⁴ is a quaternionic line bundle that admits a metric of Spin(7) holonomy. We consider octonionic Yang–Mills instanton on this eight-dimensional gravitational instanton. This is a higher dimensional generalization of (anti-) self-dual instanton on the Eguchi-Hanson space. We propose an ansatz for Spin(7) Yang–Mills field and derive a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations. The solutions are classified according to the asymptotic behavior at infinity. We give a complete solution when the gauge group is reduced to a product of SU(2) subalgebras in Spin(7). The existence of more general Spin(7) valued solutions can be seen by making an asymptotic expansion.     

Spinorial Matter in Affine Theory of Gravity and the Space Problem

The purely affine theory of gravity possesses a canonical formulation. For this and other reasons, it could be a promising candidate for quantum gravity. Motivated by these perspectives, we discuss spinorial matter coupled to gravity, where the latter is described by a connection having no a priori relation to a metric. We show that one can establish a truncated spinor formalism which, for special or approximate solutions to the gravitational equations, reduces to the standard formalism. As a consequence, one arrives at "matter-induced" Riemann–Cartan spaces solving the Weyl-Cartan space problem.     

λ→0 limit of 2+1 quantum gravity for arbitrary genus

The abstract quantum algebra of observables for 2+1 gravity is analysed in the limit of small cosmological constant. The algebra splits into two sets with an explicit phase space representation; one set consists of 6g–6commuting elements which form a basis for an algebraic manifold defined by the trace and rank identities; the other set consists of 6g–6 tangent vectors to this manifold. The action of the quantum mapping class group leaves the algebra and algebraic manifold invariant. The previously presented representation forg=2 is analysed in this limit and reduced to a very simple form. The symplectic form forg=2 is computed.     

Cohomological gravity

We construct a theory of cohomological gravity in arbitrary dimensions based upon a local vector supersyrnmetry algebra. The observables in this theory are polynomial, but generally non-local operators, and have a natural interpretation in terms of a universal bundle for gravity. As such, their correlation functions correspond to cohomology classes on moduli spaces of Riemannian connections. In this uniformization approach different moduli spaces are obtained by introducing curvature singularities on codimension two submanifolds via a puncture operator. This puncture operator is constructed from a naturally occurring differential form of co-degree two in the theory, and we are led to speculate on connections between this continuum quantum field theory, and the discrete Regge calculus.This essay received an honorable mention from the Gravity Research Foundation, 1992-Ed.     

The algebraic structure of cohomological field theory

The algebraic foundation of cohomological field theory is presented. It is shown that these theories are based upon realizations of an algebra which contains operators for both BRST and vector supersymmetry. Through a localization of this algebra, we construct a theory of cohomological gravity in arbitrary dimensions. The observables in the theory are polynomial, but generally non-local operators, and have a natural interpretation in terms of a universal bundle for gravity. As such, their correlation functions correspond to cohomology classes on moduli spaces of Riemannian connections. In this uniformization approach, different moduli spaces are obtained by introducing curvature singularities on codimension two submanifolds via a puncture operator. This puncture operator is constructed from a naturally occuring differential form of co-degree two in the theory, and we are led to speculate on connections between this continuum quantum field theory, and the discrete Regge calculus.     

The gravitational anomaly: An elementary,coordinate-space approach

Alvarez-Gaumé and Witten have shown that energy-momentum conservation must be violated in certain parity-violating quantum field theories involving gravity. In two dimensions this effect can be studied without the aid of Feynman diagrams or calculations in momentum space. The arguments parallel those for the conformal (trace) anomaly; as in that case, there are two kinds of arguments, one based on the conservation equations themselves with some very general assumptions, and the other based on explicit calculations and renormalization in a model theory with a linear field equation. The basic point is that if matter is created at all by the gravitational field, it must appear in both left-moving and right-moving modes if the conservation law is to hold always.This essay received an honourable mention (1985) by the Gravity Research Foundation—Ed.     

Potential–density pairs for axisymmetric galaxies: the influence of scalar fields

We present a formulation for potential–density pairs to describe axi-symmetric galaxies in the Newtonian limit of scalar–tensor theories of gravity. The scalar field is described by a modified Helmholtz equation with a source that is coupled to the standard Poisson equation of Newtonian gravity. The net gravitational force is given by two contributions: the standard Newtonian potential plus a term stemming from massive scalar fields. General solutions have been found for axisymmetric systems and the multipole expansion of the Yukawa potential is given. In particular, we have computed potential–density pairs of galactic disks for an exponential profile and their rotation curves.     

Gravity, non-commutative geometry and the Wodzicki residue

We derive an action for gravity in the framework of non-commutative geometry by using the Wodzicki residue. We prove that for a Dirac operator D on an n dimensional compact Riemannian manifold with n ≥ 4, n even, the Wodzicki residue Res(D⁻ⁿ⁺²) is the integral of the second coefficient of the heat kernel expansion of D². We use this result to derive a gravity action for commutative geometry which is the usual Einstein-Hilbert action and we also apply our results to a non-commutative extension which is given by the tensor product of the algebra of smooth functions on a manifold and a finite dimensional matrix algebra. In this case we obtain gravity with a cosmological constant.     

Wigner–Weyl–Moyal Formalism on Algebraic Structures

We first introduce theWigner–Weyl–Moyal formalism for a theorywhose phase space is an arbitrary Lie algebra. We alsogeneralize to quantum Lie algebras and to supersymmetrictheories. It turns out that the noncommutativity leads to a deformation ofthe classical phase space: instead of being a vectorspace, it becomes a manifold, the topology of which isgiven by the commutator relations. It is shown in fact that the classical phase space, for asemisimple Lie algebra, becomes a homogeneous symplecticmanifold. The symplectic product is also deformed. Wefinally make some comments on how to generalise to C*-algebras and other operator algebras,too.     

An interacting geometry model and induced gravity

We propose the theory of quantum gravity with interactions introduced by topological principle. The fundamental property of such a theory is that its energy-momentum tensor is a BRST anticommutator. Physical states are elements of the BRST cohomology group. The model with only topological excitations, introduced recently by Witten, is discussed from the point of view of the induced gravity program. We find that the mass scale is induced dynamically by gravitational instantons. The low-energy effective theory has gravitons, which occur as the collective excitations of geometry, when the metric becomes dynamical. Applications of cobordism theory to quantum gravity are discussed.This essay received the second award from the Gravity Research Foundation for the year 1988.—Ed.