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Alejandro Corichi

Publications and source records attributed to Alejandro Corichi.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
arXiv2005

Generalized harmonic spatial coordinates and hyperbolic shift conditions

We propose a generalization of the condition for harmonic spatial coordinates analogous to the generalization of the harmonic time slices introduced by Bona et al., and closely related to dynamic shift conditions recently proposed by Lindblom and Scheel, and Bona and Palenzuela. These generalized harmonic spatial coordinates imply a condition for the shift vector that has the form of an evolution equation for the shift components. We find that in order to decouple the slicing condition from the evolution equation for the shift it is necessary to use a rescaled shift vector. The initial form of the generalized harmonic shift condition is not spatially covariant, but we propose a simple way to make it fully covariant so that it can be used in coordinate systems other than Cartesian. We also analyze the effect of the shift condition proposed here on the hyperbolicity of the evolution equations of general relativity in 1+1 dimensions and 3+1 spherical symmetry, and study the possible development of blow-ups. Finally, we perform a series of numerical experiments to illustrate the behavior of this shift condition.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2005

Bibliography of Publications related to Classical Self-dual variables and Loop Quantum Gravity

This bibliography attempts to give a comprehensive overview of all the literature related to what is known as the Ashtekar-Sen connection and the Rovelli-Smolin loop variables, from which the program currently known as Loop Quantum Gravity emerged. The original version was compiled by Peter Huebner in 1989, and it has been subsequently updated by Gabriela Gonzalez, Bernd Bruegmann, Monica Pierri, Troy Schilling, Christopher Beetle, Alejandro Corichi and Alberto Hauser. The criteria for inclusion in this list are the following: A paper in the classical theory is included if it deals with connection variables for gravity. If the paper is in the quantum domain, it is included when it is related directly with gravity using connection/loop variables, with mathematical aspects of connections, or when it introduces techniques that might be useful for the construction of the (loop) quantum theory of gravity. Information about additional literature, new preprints, and especially corrections are always welcome.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2005

Loop Quantum Geometry: A primer

This is the written version of a lecture given at the ``VI Mexican School of Gravitation and Mathematical Physics" (Nov 21-27, 2004, Playa del Carmen, Mexico), introducing the basics of Loop Quantum Geometry. The purpose of the written contribution is to provide a Primer version, that is, a first entry into Loop Quantum Gravity and to present at the same time a friendly guide to the existing pedagogical literature on the subject. This account is geared towards graduate students and non-experts interested in learning the basics of the subject.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2005

Semiclassical States for Constrained Systems

The notion of semi-classical states is first sharpened by clarifying two issues that appear to have been overlooked in the literature. Systems with linear and quadratic constraints are then considered and the group averaging procedure is applied to kinematical coherent states to obtain physical semi-classical states. In the specific examples considered, the technique turns out to be surprisingly efficient, suggesting that it may well be possible to use kinematical structures to analyze the semi-classical behavior of physical states of an interesting class of constrained systems.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2005

Towards a new approach to quantum gravity phenomenology

The idea that quantum gravity manifestations would be associated with a violation of Lorentz invariance is very strongly bounded and faces serious theoretical challenges. This leads us to consider an alternative line of thought for such phenomenological search. We discuss the underlying viewpoint and briefly mention its possible connections with current theoretical ideas. We also outline the challenges that the experimental search of the effects would seem to entail.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2004

Semiclassical Quantum Gravity: Statistics of Combinatorial Riemannian Geometries

This paper is a contribution to the development of a framework, to be used in the context of semiclassical canonical quantum gravity, in which to frame questions about the correspondence between discrete spacetime structures at "quantum scales" and continuum, classical geometries at large scales. Such a correspondence can be meaningfully established when one has a "semiclassical" state in the underlying quantum gravity theory, and the uncertainties in the correspondence arise both from quantum fluctuations in this state and from the kinematical procedure of matching a smooth geometry to a discrete one. We focus on the latter type of uncertainty, and suggest the use of statistical geometry as a way to quantify it. With a cell complex as an example of discrete structure, we discuss how to construct quantities that define a smooth geometry, and how to estimate the associated uncertainties. We also comment briefly on how to combine our results with uncertainties in the underlying quantum state, and on their use when considering phenomenological aspects of quantum gravity.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2004

Semiclassical States in Quantum Cosmology: Bianchi I Coherent States

We study coherent states for Bianchi type I cosmological models, as examples of semiclassical states for time-reparametrization invariant systems. This simple model allows us to study explicitly the relationship between exact semiclassical states in the kinematical Hilbert space and corresponding ones in the physical Hilbert space, which we construct here using the group averaging technique. We find that it is possible to construct good semiclassical physical states by such a procedure in this model; we also discuss the sense in which the original kinematical states may be a good approximation to the physical ones, and the situations in which this is the case. In addition, these models can be deparametrized in a natural way, and we study the effect of time evolution on an "intrinsic" coherent state in the reduced phase space, in order to estimate the time for this state to spread significantly.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2004

Black Holes in de Sitter Space: Masses, Energies and Entropy Bounds

In this paper we consider spacetimes in vacuum general relativity --possibly coupled to a scalar field-- with a positive cosmological constant $Λ$. We employ the Isolated Horizons (IH) formalism where the boundary conditions imposed are that of two horizons, one of black hole type and the other, serving as outer boundary, a cosmological horizon. As particular cases, we consider the Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime, in both 2+1 and 3+1 dimensions. Within the IH formalism, it is useful to define two different notions of energy for the cosmological horizon, namely, the "mass" and the "energy". Empty de Sitter space provides an striking example of such distinction: its horizon energy is zero but the horizon mass takes a finite value given by $π/(2\sqrtΛ)$. For both horizons we study their thermodynamic properties, compare our results with those of Euclidean Hamiltonian methods and construct some generalized Bekenstein entropy bounds. We discuss these new entropy bounds and compare them with some recently proposed entropy bounds in the cosmological setting.

hep-th↗
arXiv2004

Comments on area spectra in Loop Quantum Gravity

We examine and compare different area spectra that have been recently considered in Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG). In particular we focus our attention on a Equally Spaced (ES) spectrum operator introduced by Alekseev et. al. that has gained recent attention. We show that such operator is not well defined within the LQG framework, and comment on the issue regarding area spectra and QNM frequencies.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2004

Note on Self-Duality and the Kodama State

An interesting interplay between self-duality, the Kodama (Chern-Simons) state and knot invariants is shown to emerge in the quantum theory of an Abelian gauge theory. More precisely, when a self-dual representation of the CCR is chosen, the corresponding vacuum in the Schroedinger representation is precisely given by the Kodama state. Several consequences of this construction are explored.

hep-th↗
arXiv2003

On the Relation Between Fock and Schroedinger Representations for a Scalar Field

Linear free field theories are one of the few Quantum Field Theories that are exactly soluble. There are, however, (at least) two very different languages to describe them, Fock space methods and the Schroedinger functional description. In this paper, the precise sense in which the two representations are related is reviewed. Several properties of these representations are studied, among them the well known fact that the Schroedinger counterpart of the usual Fock representation is described by a Gaussian measure. A real scalar field theory is considered, both on Minkowski spacetime for arbitrary, non-inertial embeddings of the Cauchy surface, and for arbitrary (globally hyperbolic) curved spacetimes. As a concrete example, the Schroedinger representation on stationary and homogeneous cosmological spacetimes is constructed.

hep-th↗
arXiv2003

A hyperbolic slicing condition adapted to Killing fields and densitized lapses

We study the properties of a modified version of the Bona-Masso family of hyperbolic slicing conditions. This modified slicing condition has two very important features: In the first place, it guarantees that if a spacetime is static or stationary, and one starts the evolution in a coordinate system in which the metric coefficients are already time independent, then they will remain time independent during the subsequent evolution, {\em i.e.} the lapse will not evolve and will therefore not drive the time lines away from the Killing direction. Second, the modified condition is naturally adapted to the use of a densitized lapse as a fundamental variable, which in turn makes it a good candidate for a dynamic slicing condition that can be used in conjunction with some recently proposed hyperbolic reformulations of the Einstein evolution equations.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2003

Non-minimal couplings, quantum geometry and black hole entropy

The black hole entropy calculation for type I isolated horizons, based on loop quantum gravity, is extended to include non-minimally coupled scalar fields. Although the non-minimal coupling significantly modifies quantum geometry, the highly non-trivial consistency checks for the emergence of a coherent description of the quantum horizon continue to be met. The resulting expression of black hole entropy now depends also on the scalar field precisely in the fashion predicted by the first law in the classical theory (with the same value of the Barbero-Immirzi parameter as in the case of minimal coupling).

gr-qc↗
arXiv2003

Non-minimally coupled scalar fields and isolated horizons

The isolated horizon framework is extended to include non-minimally coupled scalar fields. As expected from the analysis based on Killing horizons, entropy is no longer given just by (a quarter of) the horizon area but also depends on the scalar field. In a subsequent paper these results will serve as a point of departure for a statistical mechanical derivation of entropy using quantum geometry.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2003

Note on Canonical Quantization and Unitary Equivalence in Field Theory

The problem of defining and constructing representations of the Canonical Commutation Relations can be systematically approached via the technique of {\it algebraic quantization}. In particular, when the phase space of the system is linear and finite dimensional, the `vertical polarization' provides an unambiguous quantization. For infinite dimensional field theory systems, where the Stone-von Neumann theorem fails to be valid, even the simplest representation, the Schroedinger functional picture has some non-trivial subtleties. In this letter we consider the quantization of a real free scalar field --where the Fock quantization is well understood-- on an arbitrary background and show that the representation coming from the most natural application of the algebraic quantization approach is not, in general, unitary equivalent to the corresponding Schroedinger-Fock quantization. We comment on the possible implications of this result for field quantization.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2003

On Quasinormal Modes, Black Hole Entropy, and Quantum Geometry

Loop quantum gravity can account for the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of a black hole provided a free parameter is chosen appropriately. Recently, it was proposed that a new choice of the Immirzi parameter could predict both black hole entropy and the frequencies of quasinormal modes in the large $n$ limit, but at the price of changing the gauge group of the theory. In this note we use a simple physical argument within loop quantum gravity to arrive at the same value of the parameter. The argument uses strongly the necessity of having fermions satisfying basic symmetry and conservation principles, and therefore supports SU(2) as the relevant gauge group of the theory.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2002

On the Schroedinger Representation for a Scalar Field on Curved Spacetime

It is generally known that linear (free) field theories are one of the few QFT that are exactly soluble. In the Schroedinger functional description of a scalar field on flat Minkowski spacetime and for flat embeddings, it is known that the usual Fock representation is described by a Gaussian measure. In this paper, arbitrary globally hyperbolic space-times and embeddings of the Cauchy surface are considered. The classical structures relevant for quantization are used for constructing the Schroedinger representation in the general case. It is shown that in this case, the measure is also Gaussian. Possible implications for the program of canonical quantization of midisuperspace models are pointed out.

gr-qc↗