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Hauptverfasser: Bell, Callum, Sloan, David
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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Online-Zugang:https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.05817
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author Bell, Callum
Sloan, David
author_facet Bell, Callum
Sloan, David
contents Scaling symmetries have previously been examined for classical field theories described by singular Lagrangians; in this article, we apply these results to the first-order formulation of General Relativity. It is shown that the dynamical content of the Hilbert action may be formulated in terms of the conformal spacetime geometry, together with a dissipative sector, which is required in order to compensate the elimination of the notion of scale encoded by the conformal factor. Further, we consider the linearisation of the equations of motion of the scale-invariant action, demonstrating that the first-order metric perturbations satisfy a free wave equation, as expected. The second-order dynamics, describing gravitational backreaction, are found to be sourced by quadratic combinations of the first-order perturbations. However, these dynamics are non-conservative, as is made manifest by the presence of terms which couple the action sector with the geometrical degrees of freedom.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_05817
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publishDate 2026
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spellingShingle Classical General Relativity as a Non-Conservative Action-Dependent Field Theory
Bell, Callum
Sloan, David
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
83C
Scaling symmetries have previously been examined for classical field theories described by singular Lagrangians; in this article, we apply these results to the first-order formulation of General Relativity. It is shown that the dynamical content of the Hilbert action may be formulated in terms of the conformal spacetime geometry, together with a dissipative sector, which is required in order to compensate the elimination of the notion of scale encoded by the conformal factor. Further, we consider the linearisation of the equations of motion of the scale-invariant action, demonstrating that the first-order metric perturbations satisfy a free wave equation, as expected. The second-order dynamics, describing gravitational backreaction, are found to be sourced by quadratic combinations of the first-order perturbations. However, these dynamics are non-conservative, as is made manifest by the presence of terms which couple the action sector with the geometrical degrees of freedom.
title Classical General Relativity as a Non-Conservative Action-Dependent Field Theory
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
83C
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.05817