10–14 Jul 2023
Radboud University Nijmegen
Europe/Amsterdam timezone

Reviving Quantum Geometrodynamics: Representations of the Kinematical Observables and the Diffeomorphism Group

10 Jul 2023, 16:15
15m
CC5 (Radboud University)

CC5

Radboud University

Mercatorpad 1 Nijmegen

Speaker

Thorsten Lang (University of Erlangen–Nuremberg)

Description

Quantum Geometrodynamics represents an early attempt at the canonical quantization of General Relativity. In a seminal paper, DeWitt proposed a formal Hamiltonian constraint operator by substituting canonical momenta with variational derivative operators. However, the rigorous interpretation of this operator has remained elusive due to the highly nonlinear nature of the constraint and the associated issues arising from the multiplication of distributions. Consequently, a well-defined Hilbert space for the theory could not be specified. In this talk, we build upon the conceptual framework introduced in the companion talk, "Reviving Quantum Geometrodynamics: Conceptual Setup and Lattice Discretization." We establish Hilbert spaces for the lattice theories that allow for well-defined lattice approximations of all continuum quantities. These Hilbert spaces exhibit a non-standard representation of the canonical commutation relations between the matrix elements of the spatial metric and the conjugate momenta. This approach ensures that states are exclusively supported on positive definite symmetric matrices. Furthermore, we construct a continuum Hilbert space and a representation of the group of spatial diffeomorphisms thereon.

Presentation materials