Abelian decomposition of Einstein's theory: Reformulation of general relativity

Abstract

We propose a reformulation of general relativity by making the Abelian decomposition of Einstein's theory. Based on the view that Einstein's theory can be interpreted as a gauge theory of Lorentz group, we decompose the Einstein's gravitational connection (the gauge potential of Lorentz group $\vGm_μ$) into the restricted connection made of the potential of the maximal Abelian subgroup $H$ of Lorentz group $G$ and the valence connection made of $G/H$ part of the potential which transforms covariantly under Lorentz group. With this decomposition we show that the Einstein's theory can be decomposed into the restricted part made of the restricted connection which has the full Lorentz gauge invariance and the valence part made of the valence connection which plays the role of gravitational source of the restricted gravity. We show that there are two different Abelian decomposition of Einstein's theory, because Lorentz group has two maximal Abelian subgroups. In this decomposition the role of the space-time metric $g_\mn$ is replaced by a four-index metric tensor $\vg_\mn$ which transforms covariantly under the Lorentz group, and the metric-compatibility condition $\nabla_αg_\mn=0$ of the connection is replaced by the gauge covariant condition $D_μ\vg^\mn$ which tells that $\vg_\mn$ is invariant under the parallel transport along the $\pro_μ$-direction defined by $\vGm_μ$. We discuss the physical implications of the Abelian decomposition. In particular, we argue that the decomposition implies the existence of a restricted theory of gravitation which has the full general invariance but has less physical degrees of freedom.