arXiv subjects

Caglar Pala

Publications and source records attributed to Caglar Pala.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

From Nonmetricity Operators to the Physical Spectrum: A Branch-Complete Analysis of Local Four-Derivative Symmetric Teleparallel Gravity

We develop a branch-complete classical free-spectrum analysis of local parity-even symmetric teleparallel gravity containing all pure-gravity nonmetricity operators through four derivatives. After canonicalisation and integration by parts, the nonlinear action contains 116 independent operators distributed as $5+13+29+69$ among $Q^2$, $(\nabla Q)^2$, $Q^2\nabla Q$ and $Q^4$. Around Minkowski spacetime in the coincident gauge only the first two sectors contribute to the quadratic action, which reduces to four two-derivative and five four-derivative bilinears. We map the original coefficients to this nine-dimensional basis, construct the Hessian and momentum kernel, and classify local linear gauge symmetries. Unrestricted linearised diffeomorphism invariance imposes six independent relations and leaves a three-parameter family $(A,B,C)$. We also recover TDiff, Weyl, WTDiff and additional accidental symmetry branches. Barnes--Rivers decomposition, gauge fixing, exact inversion and conserved-source saturation reduce the physical exchange to spin-two and scalar factors $A+2Cq$ and $2A+(3B-2C)q$. The generic regular spectrum contains a massless graviton, a massive spin-two state and a massive scalar, with eight degrees of freedom. The massive spin-two residue is necessarily opposite to that of the healthy massless graviton. The regular classification leaves only GR/STEGR, $A>0$ with $B=C=0$, and the scalar extension, $A>0$, $B>0$, $C=0$, as fully healthy Minkowski loci. The latter has three degrees of freedom and mixed ultraviolet behaviour, with tensor exchange scaling as $k^{-2}$ and scalar exchange as $k^{-4}$. Thus, within this finite local metric theory, full four-derivative tensor suppression requires the finite massive spin-two pole with opposite residue.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Foldy--Wouthuysen Transformation of the Generalized Dirac Equation in Symmetric Teleparallel Gravity

We investigate the non-relativistic limit of the generalized Dirac equation in a weak, static, and spherically symmetric background of symmetric teleparallel gravity. The underlying generalized spinor connection incorporates the complete Clifford-algebra basis and introduces additional couplings to the non-metricity sector beyond those of the conventional Dirac theory. Working in the coincident gauge and adopting the weak-field Schwarzschild geometry in isotropic coordinates, we derive the corresponding generalized Dirac Hamiltonian and perform successive Foldy--Wouthuysen transformations up to order $1/m^2$, retaining terms to first order in the gravitational potential and its spatial derivatives. The resulting block-diagonal Hamiltonian contains not only the expected gravitational counterparts of the kinetic, spin--orbit, and Darwin interactions, but also additional operator structures generated by the generalized spinor connection. In particular, direct spin--gravity, anisotropic spin--momentum--gravity, and tidal spin--momentum couplings arise naturally from the generalized metric-affine interaction. We further perform an order-of-magnitude analysis for an electron in the Earth's weak gravitational field to justify the adopted truncation of the inverse-mass expansion. These results demonstrate that the generalized Dirac equation in a symmetric teleparallel background gives rise to new low-energy interaction channels involving the fermion spin, momentum, and spatial derivatives of the gravitational field. The resulting effective Hamiltonian provides a framework for exploring phenomenological constraints on the additional couplings entering the generalized spinor connection.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Symmetric teleparallel gravitational effects on solar neutrino oscillations

Neutrino oscillations probe the quantum gravity interface in unique ways. While gravitational effects on neutrinos are well studied in general relativity and torsion based geometries, the symmetric teleparallel regime where gravity stems solely from non-metricity, with zero curvature and torsion has remained uncharted. In this work, we perform the first analysis of neutrino oscillations in such a spacetime. Using the reduced Kerr metric in coincident gauge for the slowly rotating and weakly gravitating spherical Sun, we derive the Dirac Hamiltonian from the generalized Dirac equation and compute the accumulated phase of neutrino mass eigenstates. There are six free coupling constants in our model. Based on certain observational inputs, we inferred upper bounds on our arbitrary coupling constants. This allowed us to simplify the otherwise cumbersome calculations to some extent. Ultimately, we computed the phase differences that play a crucial role in solar neutrino oscillations and analyzed the contributions arising from our arbitrary coupling constants. Our results establish neutrino oscillations as a novel probe of non-metricity and open a new avenue for testing symmetric teleparallel gravity through astrophysical observations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

The Generalized Dirac Equation in the Metric Affine Spacetime

We discuss the most general form of Dirac equation in the non$-$Riemannian spacetimes containing curvature, torsion and non$-$metricity. It includes all bases of the Clifford algebra $cl(1,3)$ within the spinor connection. We adopt two approaches. First, the generalized Dirac equation is directly formulated by applying the minimal coupling prescription to the original Dirac equation. It is referred to as the {\it direct Dirac equation} for seek of clarity and to preserve the tractability. Second, through the application of variational calculation to the original Dirac Lagrangian, the resulting Dirac equation is referred to as the {\it variational Dirac equation}. A consistency crosscheck is performed between these two approaches, leading to novel constraints on the arbitrary coupling constants appearing in the covariant derivative of spinor. Following short analysis on the generalized Dirac Lagrangian, it is observed that two of the novel terms give rise to a shift in the spinor mass by sensing its handedness.

math-ph↗

arXiv2023

Weyl-Lorentz-U(1)-invariant symmetric teleparallel gravity in three dimensions

We consider a Weyl-Lorentz-$U(1)$-invariant gravity model written in terms of a scalar field, electromagnetic field and nonmetricity without torsion and curvature, the so-called symmetric teleparallel geometry, in three dimensions. Firstly, we obtain variational field equations from a Lagrangian. Then, we find some classes of circularly symmetric rotating solutions by making only a metric ansatz. The coincident gauge of symmetric teleparallel spacetime allows us for doing so.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

General teleparallel metrical geometries

In the conventional formulation of general relativity, gravity is represented by the metric curvature of Riemannian geometry. There are also alternative formulations in flat affine geometries, wherein the gravitational dynamics is instead described by torsion and nonmetricity. These so called general teleparallel geometries may also have applications in material physics, such as the study of crystal defects. In this work, we explore the general teleparallel geometry in the language of differential forms. We discuss the special cases of metric and symmetric teleparallelisms, clarify the relations between formulations with different gauge fixings and without gauge fixing, and develop a method of recasting Riemannian into teleparallel geometries. As illustrations of the method, exact solutions are presented for the generic quadratic theory in 2, 3 and 4 dimensions.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Weyl covariance, second clock effect and proper time in theories of symmetric teleparallel gravity

Just after Weyl's paper (Weyl in Gravitation und Elektrizität, Sitzungsber. Preuss. Akad., Berlin, 1918) Einstein claimed that a gravity model written in a spacetime geometry with non-metricity suffers from a phenomenon, the so-called second clock effect. We give a new prescription of parallel transport of a vector tangent to a curve which is invariant under both of local general coordinate and Weyl transformations in order to remove that effect. Thus since the length of tangent vector does not change during parallel transport along a closed curve in spacetimes with non-metricity, a second clock effect does not appear in general, not only for the integrable Weyl spacetime. We have specially motivated the problem from the point of view of symmetric teleparallel (or Minkowski-Weyl) geometry. We also conclude that if nature respects Lorentz symmetry and Weyl symmetry, then the simplest geometry in which one can develop consistently alternative gravity models is the symmetric teleparallel geometry; $Q_{μν}\neq 0, \; T^μ=0, \; R^μ_ν=0$. Accordingly we discuss the proper time, the orbit equation of a spinless test body and the Lagrangian for symmetric teleparallel gravity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

A novel approach to autoparallels for the theories of symmetric teleparallel gravity

Although the autoparallel curves and the geodesics coincide in the Riemannian geometry in which only the curvature is nonzero among the nonmetricity, the torsion and the curvature, they define different curves in the non-Riemannian ones. We give a novel approach to autoparallel curves and geodesics for theories of the symmetric teleparallel gravity written in the coincident gauge. Then we apply our autoparallel equation to a Schwarzschild-type metric and give remarks about dark matter and orbit equation.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2020

A modified gravity model coupled to a Dirac field in 2D spacetimes with quadratic nonmetricity and curvature

After summarizing basic concepts for the exterior algebra we firstly discuss the gauge structure of the bundle over base manifold for deciding the form of the gravitational sector of the total Lagrangian in any dimensions. Then we couple minimally a Dirac spinor field to our gravitational Lagrangian 2-form which is quadratic in the nonmetricity and both linear and quadratic in the curvature in two dimensions. Subsequently we obtain field equations by varying the total Lagrangian with respect to the independent variables. Finally we find some classes of solutions of the vacuum theory and then a solution of the Dirac equation in a specific background and analyse them.

gr-qc↗