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Main Authors: Giddings, Steven B., Perkins, Julie
Format: Preprint
Published: 2022
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.06836
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author Giddings, Steven B.
Perkins, Julie
author_facet Giddings, Steven B.
Perkins, Julie
contents This paper sets up a perturbative treatment of the evolving quantum state of a gravitational system, in a Schrödinger-like picture, working about a general background. This connects gauge symmetry, the constraints, gravitational dressing, and evolution. Starting with a general time slicing, we give a simple derivation of the relation between the constraints, the hamiltonian, and its well-known boundary term. Among different approaches to quantization with constraints, we focus on a "gauge-invariant canonical quantization," which is developed perturbatively in the gravitational coupling. The leading-order solution of the constraints (including the Wheeler-DeWitt equation) for perturbations about the background is given in terms of an explicit construction of gravitational dressings built using certain generalized Green functions; different such dressings corresponding to adding propagating gravitational waves to a particular solution of the constraints. Dressed operators commute with the constraints, expressing their gauge invariance, and have an algebraic structure differing significantly from the undressed operators of the underlying field theory. These operators can act on the vacuum to create dressed states, and evolution of general such states is then generated by the boundary hamiltonian, and alternately may be characterized using other relational observables. This provides a concrete approach to studying perturbative time evolution, including the leading gravitational backreaction, of quantum states of black holes with flat or anti de Sitter asymptotics, for example on horizon-crossing slices. This description of evolution in turn provides a starting point for investigating possibly important corrections to quantum evolution, that go beyond quantized general relativity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2209_06836
institution arXiv
publishDate 2022
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Perturbative quantum evolution of the gravitational state and dressing in general backgrounds
Giddings, Steven B.
Perkins, Julie
High Energy Physics - Theory
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
This paper sets up a perturbative treatment of the evolving quantum state of a gravitational system, in a Schrödinger-like picture, working about a general background. This connects gauge symmetry, the constraints, gravitational dressing, and evolution. Starting with a general time slicing, we give a simple derivation of the relation between the constraints, the hamiltonian, and its well-known boundary term. Among different approaches to quantization with constraints, we focus on a "gauge-invariant canonical quantization," which is developed perturbatively in the gravitational coupling. The leading-order solution of the constraints (including the Wheeler-DeWitt equation) for perturbations about the background is given in terms of an explicit construction of gravitational dressings built using certain generalized Green functions; different such dressings corresponding to adding propagating gravitational waves to a particular solution of the constraints. Dressed operators commute with the constraints, expressing their gauge invariance, and have an algebraic structure differing significantly from the undressed operators of the underlying field theory. These operators can act on the vacuum to create dressed states, and evolution of general such states is then generated by the boundary hamiltonian, and alternately may be characterized using other relational observables. This provides a concrete approach to studying perturbative time evolution, including the leading gravitational backreaction, of quantum states of black holes with flat or anti de Sitter asymptotics, for example on horizon-crossing slices. This description of evolution in turn provides a starting point for investigating possibly important corrections to quantum evolution, that go beyond quantized general relativity.
title Perturbative quantum evolution of the gravitational state and dressing in general backgrounds
topic High Energy Physics - Theory
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.06836