arXiv subjects

D. G. C. McKeon

Publications and source records attributed to D. G. C. McKeon.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Renormalization of Quantum Gravity with Lagrange Multiplier Fields

We study the renormalization of Einstein gravity coupled to a scalar field in the Lagrange multiplier (LM) formulation, where a pair of quantum LM fields, $(λ'_{μν},σ')$, is coupled to the gauge-fixed gravitational and scalar equations of motion. Using the fact that in this approach there are no higher loop corrections, we show that renormalizing the two quantum LM fields at one-loop order absorbs, off-shell, five out of the six independent divergent structures. The remaining off-shell counterterm, proportional to $ (\partial_μ\barϕ\,\partial^μ\barϕ)^2, $ is nonzero on shell and cannot be absorbed by any LM field redefinition, since such redefinitions generate only counterterms that vanish on shell. In contrast, in pure gravity (no matter), the LM renormalization absorbs all one-loop divergences and no additional counterterms are required. The LM formulation therefore provides a sharp off-shell separation between equation-of-motion divergences, absorbed into LM field renormalizations, and the single irreducible structure.

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arXiv2026

Supergravity with Lagrange Multiplier Fields in 2 + 1 Dimensions

We examine the first-order Einstein-Cartan (EC) action in 2+1 dimensions, including a cosmological term and its supersymmetric extension. In this setting the spin connection can be expressed as an axial vector, yielding an action that is bilinear in the quantum fields and allows quantization without background fields. From the complete set of first-class constraints, the associated gauge transformations all follow. These differ from the standard supersymmetric diffeomorphism and local Lorentz invariances. Using the closed gauge algebra, we construct the Faddeev-Popov-Nielsen path integral and then show how a Lagrange multiplier field can be introduced to remove higher-loop contributions while preserving unitarity and gauge invariance. This indicates the possibility of being able to use a Lagrange multiplier field to formulate a unitary and renormalizable model for Einstein-Cartan gravity coupled to the Standard Model in 3+1 dimensions.

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arXiv2026

A Renormalizable and Unitary Approach to Quantum Gravity

A Lagrange multiplier field restricts the quantum corrections to the Einstein-Hilbert action at one-loop order, yielding a model that is renormalizable and unitary while reproducing the Einstein field equations in the classical limit.

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arXiv2026

Equivalence of first and second order formulations of the Einstein-Hilbert theory

We derive a general relation between the background effective actions, which directly proves that the two formulations of the Einstein-Hilbert theory with background fields are equivalent at the quantum level. This basic result has been substantiated in a general background gauge, by explicit calculations at one-loop order of the corresponding counterterm Lagrangians.

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arXiv2025

A Renormalizable Model of Quantized Gravitational and Matter Fields

A Lagrange multiplier field can be used to restrict radiative corrections to the Einstein-Hilbert action to one-loop order. This result is employed to show that it is possible to couple a scalar field to the metric (graviton) field in such a way that the model is both renormalizable and unitary. The usual Einstein equations of motion for the gravitational field are recovered, perturbatively, in the classical limit. By evaluating the generating functional of proper Green's functions in closed form, one obtains a novel analytic contribution to the effective action.

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arXiv2025

Quantization of Einstein-Cartan theory in the first order form

We consider the Einstein-Cartan theory with the tetrad $e_μ^{a}$ and spin connection $ω_{μab}$ taken as being independent fields. Diffeomorphism invariance and local Lorentz invariance result in there being two distinct gauge transformations in this approach, and consequently two ghost fields arise when employing the usual Faddeev-Popov quantization procedure. Our choice of gauge fixing retains the gauge invariances of the background field. We show that the gauge algebra is closed even in the presence of torsion, and the resulting BRST invariance can be found for the effective action. We also derive the Slavnov-Taylor identities, which reflect the BRST symmetries of this theory.

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arXiv2024

General Covariant Gauge Fixing for Massless Spin-Two Fields

The most general covariant gauge fixing Lagrangian is considered for a spin-two gauge theory in the context of the Faddeev-Popov procedure. In general, five parameters characterize this gauge fixing. Certain limiting values for these parameters give rise to a spin-two propagator that is either traceless or transverse, but for no values of these parameters is this propagator simultaneously traceless and transverse. Having a traceless-transverse (TT) propagator ensures that only the physical degrees of freedom associated with the tensor field propagate, and hence it is analogous to the Landau gauge in electrodynamics. To obtain such a traceless-transverse propagator, a gauge fixing Lagrangian which is not quadratic must be employed; this sort of gauge fixing Lagrangian is not encountered in the usual Faddeev-Popov procedure. It is shown that when this non-quadratic gauge fixing Lagrangian is used, two Fermionic and one Bosonic ghost arise. As a simple application we discuss the energy-momentum tensor of the gravitational field at finite temperature.

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arXiv2024

Renormalization of the Einstein-Cartan Theory in First-Order Form

We examine the Einstein-Cartan (EC) theory in first-order form, which has a diffeomorphism as well as a local Lorentz invariance. We study the renormalizability of this theory in the framework of the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism, which allows for a gauge invariant renormalization. Using the background field method, we discuss the gauge invariance of the background effective action and analyze the Ward identities which reflect the symmetries of the EC theory. As an application, we compute, in a general background gauge, the self-energy of the tetrad field at one-loop order.

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arXiv2024

Unified worldline treatment of Yukawa and axial couplings

We provide a worldline representation of the one-loop effective action for a Dirac particle coupled to external scalar, pseudoscalar, vector and axialvector fields. Extending previous work by two of the authors on the pure vector-axialvector case to all four couplings, it allows one to treat the real and the imaginary parts of the effective action in a unified manner, at the price of having a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. Unlike existing worldline representations, our new worldline action contains terms with an odd number of Grassmann fields, leading to ordering problems that in the worldline formalism are usually encountered only in curved space. Drawing on the highly developed technology for worldline path-integrals in gravity, we employ the Time Slicing regularisation of the path integral which comes about with a specific ``counterterm Lagrangian'', which we calculate once and for all and non-perturbatively, to provide unambiguous rules to treat products of distributions occurring in some diagrams of the one-dimensional worldline theory. We then employ the usual worldline machinery to lay out the rules for the calculation of the effective action itself as well as the corresponding one-loop amplitudes. We test the formalism on the calculation of various heat-kernel coefficients, self energies and scattering amplitudes, including the Higgs decay into two photons or gluons and the PCAC relation. In all cases we find perfect agreement with more established approaches.

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arXiv2024

Field redefinition invariant Lagrange multiplier formalism with gauge symmetries

It has been shown that by using a Lagrange multiplier field to ensure that the classical equations of motion are satisfied, radiative effects beyond one-loop order are eliminated. It has also been shown that through the contribution of some additional ghost fields, the effective action becomes form invariant under a redefinition of field variables, and furthermore, the usual one-loop results coincide with the quantum corrections obtained from this effective action. In this paper, we consider the consequences of a gauge invariance being present in the classical action. The resulting gauge transformations for the Lagrange multiplier field as well as for the additional ghost fields are found. These gauge transformations result in a set of Faddeev-Popov ghost fields arising in the effective action. If the gauge algebra is closed, we find the Becci-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) transformations that leave the effective action invariant.

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arXiv2023

Thermal quantum gravity in a general background gauge

We calculate in a general background gauge, to one-loop order, the leading logarithmic contribution from the graviton self-energy at finite temperature $T$, extending a previous analysis done at $T=0$. The result, which has a transverse structure, is applied to evaluate the leading quantum correction of the gravitational vacuum polarization to the Newtonian potential. An analytic expression valid at all temperatures is obtained, which generalizes the result obtained earlier at $T=0$. One finds that the magnitude of this quantum correction decreases as the temperature rises.

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arXiv2023

Loop corrections in a solvable UV-finite model and its effective field theory

We examine some features of the non-renormalizability induced through the use of low-energy effective Lagrangians in loop diagrams, in the context of a scalar model which is ultraviolet finite and partially soluble. In this framework, one can directly demonstrate the mechanism leading to the non-renormalizability of the effective theory. This behavior is generated by approximations that are applicable at low energies but are generally inappropriate for evaluating loop diagrams that contain virtual high-energy particles. However, it is explicitly shown that one can match the results obtained in the renormalized effective theory with those found in the full theory at low energy. We argue that the infrared sectors of these theories are inherently similar, independently of the matching procedure. A closed-form expression is obtained, to leading order in the energy expansion, for the complete effective Lagrangian at all orders in perturbation theory. The model may be useful to clarify certain aspects of realistic, but more complex, effective field theories.

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arXiv2022

Quantum gravity in a general background gauge

We deduce, in a general background gauge, the counter-term Lagrangian for pure quantum gravity to one-loop order. As an application, we evaluate the leading quantum correction to the classical gravitational potential, generated by the vacuum polarization. We find that, in specific background gauges, this yields the complete result for the one-loop quantum corrections to the Newtonian potential. This approach is also applied to calculate the $\ln(T)$ contributions in quantum gravity at high-temperature.

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arXiv2022

Feynman diagrams in terms of on-shell propagators

It is shown that the usual expression for a Feynman diagram in terms of the Feynman propagator $Δ_F(x-y)$ can be replaced by an equivalent expression involving the positive-energy on-shell propagator $Δ^+(x-y)$, supplemented by appropriate functions associated with time-ordering. When this alternate way of expressing a Feynman diagram is Fourier transformed into momentum space, the momentum associated with each function $Δ^+(x-y)$ is on-shell, and is only conserved at each vertex if an energy is attributed to the contributions of the time-ordering functions. The resulting expression is analogous to what Kadyshevsky had obtained by deriving an alternate expansion for the $S$--matrix. A detailed explanation of how this alternate expansion is derived is given, and it is shown how it provides a straightforward way of determining the imaginary part of a Feynman diagram, which makes it useful when using unitarity methods for computing a Feynman diagram. By considering a number of specific Feynman diagrams in self-interacting scalar models and in QED, we show how this alternate approach can be related to the old perturbation theory and can simplify direct calculations of Feynman diagrams.

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arXiv2022

Radiative Corrections and the Palatini Action

By using the Faddeev-Popov quantization procedure, we demonstrate that the radiative effects computed using the first-order and second-order Einstein-Hilbert action for General Relativity are the same, provided one can discard tadpoles. In addition, we show that the first order form of this action can be used to obtain a set of Feynman rules that involves just two propagating fields and three three-point vertices; using these rules is considerably simpler than employing the infinite number of vertices that occur in the second-order form. We demonstrate this by computing the one-loop, two-point function.

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arXiv2022

On the analytically-improved running coupling in QCD

We examine, in the `t Hooft renormalization scheme, the analytic running coupling $\barα_t(Q^2)$ in QCD, using the two-loop $β$-function with positive expansion parameters $β_0$ and $β_1$. An exact integral representation is derived for this causal coupling, which is fully expressed in terms of the imaginary part of the Lambert function $W$. This integral form manifestly accounts for the universal value of the infrared limit $\barα_t(Q^2=0)= 4 π/β_0$.

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arXiv2021

Use of Lagrange multiplier fields to eliminate multiloop corrections

The problem of eliminating divergences arising in quantum gravity is generally addressed by modifying the classical Einstein-Hilbert action. These modifications might involve the introduction of local supersymmetry, the addition of terms that are higher-order in the curvature to the action, or invoking compactification of superstring theory from ten to four dimensions. An alternative to these approaches is to introduce a Lagrange multiplier field that restricts the path integral to field configurations that satisfy the classical equations of motion; this has the effect of doubling the usual one-loop contributions and of eliminating all effects beyond one loop. We show how this reduction of loop contributions occurs and find the gauge invariances present when such a Lagrange multiplier is introduced into the Yang-Mills and Einstein-Hilbert actions. Moreover, we quantize using the path integral, discuss the renormalization, and then show how Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) invariance can be used to both demonstrate that unitarity is retained and to find BRST relations between Greens functions. In the Appendices, we show how the background field quantization can be implemented, consider the use of a Lagrange multiplier field to restrict higher-order contributions in supersymmetric theories, and derive the BRST equations satisfied by the generating functional.

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arXiv2021

Forward scattering amplitudes in the imaginary time formalism

We study, in the imaginary time formalism, the relation between loops and on-shell forward scattering tree amplitudes in thermal field theories. This allows for an efficient evaluation, at all temperatures, of Green's functions with causal retarded boundary conditions. We present an application of this relation in quantum gravity coupled to scalar matter fields. We show that at one or two loops, involving planar diagrams, the 1PI retarded thermal Green's functions may respectively be expressed in terms of connected forward scattering tree amplitudes of one or two on-shell particles.

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