Is General Relativity an 'Already Parametrized' Field Theory?

C. G. Torre

doi:10.1103/physrevd.46.r3231

Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · hep-th/9204014

Is General Relativity an 'Already Parametrized' Field Theory?

C. G. Torre

View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Beginning with the work of Dirac and Arnowitt, Deser, Misner in the late fifties and early sixties, and then after subsequent development by Kucha\v r, the canonical dynamical structure of general relativity has often been viewed as that of a parametrized field theory in which the many-fingered spacetime variables are hidden amongst the geometrodynamical field variables. This paradigm of general relativity as an ``already parametrized theory'' forms the basis for one of the most satisfactory resolutions of the problems of time and observables in classical and quantum gravity. However, despite decades of effort, no identification of many-fingered spacetime variables has ever been satisfactorily obtained for vacuum general relativity. We point out that there is an obstruction to identifying the constraint surface of general relativity (for the case of a closed universe) with that of any parametrized theory. Therefore, strictly speaking, general relativity cannot be viewed as a parametrized field theory. We discuss implications for the canonical quantization program.

Explore related subjects

hep-th

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

C. G. Torre. 1992-04-06. Is General Relativity an 'Already Parametrized' Field Theory?. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.46.r3231

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Holographic Schwinger effect with Translational Symmetry Breaking

We investigate the holographic Schwinger effect in a background with translational symmetry breaking (TSB) at finite chemical potential. The gravitational background is characterized by two independent parameters: the TSB parameter $α$, which controls momentum relaxation, and the chemical potential $μ$, which determines the finite density of the dual field theory. Using the potential analysis method, we derive the total potential governing the pair production process and examine its dependence on $α$, $μ$, the external magnetic field, and the ratio $β=E/E_c$. Our results show that the effects of $α$ and $μ$ on the Schwinger process strongly depend on the dynamical regime. In the subcritical regime, increasing either $α$ or $μ$ lowers the potential barrier and facilitates pair production. However, near and above the critical electric field, the roles of these two parameters become qualitatively different. While increasing the chemical potential lowers the total potential and enhances the Schwinger pair production process, increasing the translational symmetry breaking parameter shifts the potential upward and suppresses the production process. We further show that, at fixed $β=E/E_c$, a perpendicular external magnetic field lowers the effective potential barrier and thereby facilitates the Schwinger process, while the physical electric field changes accordingly through the magnetic-field dependence of $E_c$. The corresponding pair production rate is not independently calculated; instead, its qualitative behavior is characterized through a proxy derived from the total potential. Overall, our analysis provides a comprehensive picture of how translational symmetry breaking, finite density, and external magnetic fields influence holographic non-perturbative pair production.

hep-th↗

arXiv2026

One-loop Corrected Holographic Shear Viscosity to Entropy Density Ratio at Low Temperatures

Near-extremal black holes contain infrared-enhanced quantum fluctuations in their near-horizon near-AdS$_2$ throat, governed in part by Schwarzian modes. We study the effect of these fluctuations on the zero-frequency stress-tensor response of a near-extremal asymptotically AdS$_4$ Reissner--Nordström black brane whose transverse directions are regulated by a finite toroidal quotient. Working directly in four dimensions, we compute the leading correction in the weakly coupled Schwarzian regime $T_q\ll T\ll r_0/L^2$. At one loop, the shear perturbation couples to the $n=2$ would-be zero mode and produces a correction proportional to $T_q/T$. Together with the logarithmic correction to the entropy, this yields a finite-volume correction to $η/s$. Our calculation provides a direct four-dimensional benchmark, complementary to exact two-dimensional treatments, while keeping the asymptotic AdS$_4$ source explicit.

hep-th↗

arXiv2026

Families of Hitchin Systems in Type-D

The Coulomb branch geometry of a 4d $\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFT is encoded in the data of a complex integrable system. In class-S, this is the Hitchin System (of ADE type) on the punctured curves $C$ on which we compactified from 6d to 4d. As we vary the complex structure of $C$, these fit together to form a (nontrivial!) bundle of Hitchin systems over the moduli space of complex structures of $C$ (the ``conformal manifold'' of the family of SCFTs). We carry out that construction for type-D. Compared to the type-A case, the construction is much more complicated because of local constraints at the punctures. Those local constraints were studied in [1]. Here, we work out their implications for the global bundle of spectral (Seiberg-Witten) curves.

hep-th↗