arXiv subjects

Kirill Krasnov

Publications and source records attributed to Kirill Krasnov.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

The Universal Phase Space of AdS3 Gravity

We describe what can be called the "universal" phase space of AdS3 gravity, in which the moduli spaces of globally hyperbolic AdS spacetimes with compact spatial sections, as well as the moduli spaces of multi-black-hole spacetimes are realized as submanifolds. The universal phase space is parametrized by two copies of the Universal Teichmüller space T(1) and is obtained from the correspondence between maximal surfaces in AdS3 and quasisymmetric homeomorphisms of the unit circle. We also relate our parametrization to the Chern-Simons formulation of 2+1 gravity and, infinitesimally, to the holographic (Fefferman-Graham) description. In particular, we obtain a relation between the generators of quasiconformal deformations in each T(1) sector and the chiral Brown-Henneaux vector fields. We also relate the charges arising in the holographic description (such as the mass and angular momentum of an AdS3 spacetime) to the periods of the quadratic differentials arising via the Bers embedding of T(1)xT(1). Our construction also yields a symplectic map from T*T(1) to T(1)xT(1) generalizing the well-known Mess map in the compact spatial surface setting.

hep-th↗

arXiv2012

Fermions via spinor-valued one-forms

Spinor-valued one-forms (Rarita-Schwinger fields) are normally used in the context of supergravity, where they describe spin 3/2 particles (gravitinos). Indeed, when decomposed into irreducible representations of the Lorentz group such a field contains both a spin 1/2 and a spin 3/2 component, and the Rarita-Schwinger Lagrangian is designed to make only the spin 3/2 propagate. We point out that the opposite construction is also possible, and give a spinor-valued one-form field Lagrangian that describes a propagating spin 1/2 particle.

hep-th↗

arXiv2012

Pure Connection Formalism for Gravity: Linearized Theory

We give a description of gravitons in terms of an SL(2,C) connection field. The gauge-theoretic Lagrangian for gravitons is simpler than the metric one. Moreover, all components of the connection field have the same sign in front of their kinetic term, unlike what happens in the metric formalism. The gauge-theoretic description is also more economic than the standard one because the Lagrangian only depends on 8 components of the field per spacetime point as compared to 10 in the Einstein-Hilbert case. Particular care is paid to the treatment of the reality conditions that guarantee that one is dealing with a system with a hermitian Hamiltonian. We give general arguments explaining why the connection cannot be taken to be real, and then describe a reality condition that relates the hermitian conjugate of the connection to its (second) derivative. This is quite analogous to the treatment of fermions where one describes them by a second-order in derivatives Klein-Gordon Lagrangian, with an additional first-order reality condition (Dirac equation) imposed. We find many other parallels with fermions, e.g. the fact that the action of parity on the connection is related to the hermitian conjugation. Our main result is the mode decomposition of the connection field, which is to be used in forthcoming works for computations of graviton scattering amplitudes.

hep-th↗

arXiv2012

Some open questions on anti-de Sitter geometry

We present a list of open questions on various aspects of AdS geometry, that is, the geometry of Lorentz spaces of constant curvature -1. When possible we point out relations with homogeneous spaces and discrete subgroups of Lie groups, to Teichmüller theory, as well as analogs in hyperbolic geometry.

math.DG↗

arXiv2012

A Gauge Theoretic Approach to Gravity

Einstein's General Relativity (GR) is a dynamical theory of the spacetime metric. We describe an approach in which GR becomes an SU(2) gauge theory. We start at the linearised level and show how a gauge theoretic Lagrangian for non-interacting massless spin two particles (gravitons) takes a much more simple and compact form than in the standard metric description. Moreover, in contrast to the GR situation, the gauge theory Lagrangian is convex. We then proceed with a formulation of the full non-linear theory. The equivalence to the metric-based GR holds only at the level of solutions of the field equations, that is, on-shell. The gauge-theoretic approach also makes it clear that GR is not the only interacting theory of massless spin two particles, in spite of the GR uniqueness theorems available in the metric description. Thus, there is an inifnite-parameter class of gravity theories all describing just two propagating polarisations of the graviton. We describe how matter can be coupled to gravity in this formulation and, in particular, how both the gravity and Yang-Mills arise as sectors of a general diffeomorphism invariant gauge theory. We finish by outlining a possible scenario of the UV completion of quantum gravity within this approach.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2011

Spontaneous symmetry breaking and gravity

Gravity is usually considered to be irrelevant as far as the physics of elementary particles is concerned and, in particular, in the context of the spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) mechanism. We describe a version of the SSB mechanism in which gravity plays a direct role. We work in the context of diffeomorphism invariant gauge theories, which exist for any non-abelian gauge group G, and which have second order in derivatives field equations. We show that any (non-trivial) vacuum solution of such a theory gives rise to an embedding of the group SU(2) into G, and thus breaks G down to SU(2) times its centralizer in G. The components of the connection charged under SU(2) can then be seen to describe gravitons, with the SU(2) itself playing the role of the chiral half of the Lorentz group. Components charged under the centralizer describe the usual Yang-Mills gauge bosons. The remaining components describe massive particles. This breaking of symmetry explains (in the context of models considered) how gravity and Yang-Mills can come from a single underlying theory while being so different in the physics they describe. Further, varying the vacuum solution, and thus the embedding of SU(2) into G, one can break the Yang-Mills gauge group as desired, with massless gauge bosons of one vacuum acquiring mass in another. There is no Higgs field in our version of the SSB mechanism, the only variable is a connection field. Instead of the symmetry breaking by a dedicated Higgs field pointing in some direction in the field space, our theories break the symmetry by choosing how the group of "internal" gauge rotations of gravity (the chiral half of the Lorentz group) sits inside the full gauge group.

hep-th↗

arXiv2011

Gravity as a diffeomorphism invariant gauge theory

A general diffeomorphism invariant SU(2) gauge theory is a gravity theory with two propagating polarizations of the graviton. We develop this description of gravity, in particular for future applications to the perturbative quantization. Thus, the linearized theory, gauge symmetries, gauge fixing are discussed in detail, and the propagator is obtained. The propagator takes a simple form of that of Yang-Mills theory with an additional projector on diffeomorphism equivalence classes of connections inserted. In our approach the gravitational perturbation theory takes a rather unusual form in that the Planck length is no longer fundamental.

hep-th↗

arXiv2011

New Action Principle for General Relativity

General Relativity can be reformulated as a diffeomorphism invariant SU(2) gauge theory. A new action principle for this "pure connection" formulation of GR is described.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2010

A Unified Theory of Non-Linear Electrodynamics and Gravity

We describe a class of unified theories of electromagnetism and gravity. The Lagrangian is of the BF type, with a potential for the B-field, the gauge group is U(2) (complexified). Given a choice of the potential function the theory is a deformation of (complex) general relativity and electromagnetism, and describes just two propagating polarisations of the graviton and two of the photon. When gravity is switched off the theory becomes the usual non-linear electrodynamics with a general structure function. The Einstein-Maxwell theory can be recovered by sending some of the parameters of the defining potential to zero, but for any generic choice of the potential the theory is indistinguishable from Einstein-Maxwell at low energies. A real theory is obtained by imposing suitable reality conditions. We also study the spherically-symmetric solution and show how the usual Reissner-Nordstrom solution is recovered.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2010

Plebanski Formulation of General Relativity: A Practical Introduction

We give a pedagogical introduction into an old, but unfortunately not commonly known formulation of GR in terms of self-dual two-forms due to in particular Jerzy Plebanski. Our presentation is rather explicit in that we show how the familiar textbook solutions: Schwarzschild, Volkoff-Oppenheimer, as well as those describing the Newtonian limit, a gravitational wave and the homogeneous isotropic Universe can be obtained within this formalism. Our description shows how Plebanski formulation gives quite an economical alternative to the usual metric and frame-based schemes for deriving Einstein equations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2010

Cosmological perturbations in a family of deformations of general relativity

We study linear cosmological perturbations in a previously introduced family of deformations of general relativity characterized by the absence of new degrees of freedom. The homogeneous and isotropic background in this class of theories is unmodified and is described by the usual Friedmann equations. The theory of cosmological perturbations is modified and the relevant deformation parameter has the dimension of length. Gravitational perturbations of the scalar type can be described by a certain relativistic potential related to the matter perturbations just as in general relativity. A system of differential equations describing the evolution of this potential and of the stress-energy density perturbations is obtained. We find that the evolution of scalar perturbations proceeds with a modified effective time-dependent speed of sound, which, contrary to the case of general relativity, does not vanish even at the matter-dominated stage. In a broad range of values of the length parameter controlling the deformation, a specific transition from the regime of modified gravity to the regime of general relativity in the evolution of scalar perturbations takes place during the radiation domination. In this case, the resulting power spectrum of perturbations in radiation and dark matter is suppressed on the comoving spatial scales that enter the Hubble radius before this transition. We estimate the bounds on the deformation parameter for which this suppression does not lead to observable consequences. Evolution of scalar perturbations at the inflationary stage is modified but very slightly and the primordial spectrum generated during inflation is not noticeably different from the one obtained in general relativity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2010

The Weil-Petersson metric and the renormalized volume of hyperbolic 3-manifolds

We survey the renormalized volume of hyperbolic 3-manifolds, as a tool for Teichmuller theory, using simple differential geometry arguments to recover results sometimes first achieved by other means. One such application is McMullen's quasifuchsian (or more generally Kleinian) reciprocity, for which different arguments are proposed. Another is the fact that the renormalized volume of quasifuchsian (or more generally geometrically finite) hyperbolic 3-manifolds provides a Kahler potential for the Weil-Petersson metric on Teichmuller space. Yet another is the fact that the grafting map is symplectic, which is proved using a variant of the renormalized volume defined for hyperbolic ends.

math.DG↗

arXiv2010

Holomorphic Factorization for a Quantum Tetrahedron

We provide a holomorphic description of the Hilbert space H(j_1,..,j_n) of SU(2)-invariant tensors (intertwiners) and establish a holomorphically factorized formula for the decomposition of identity in H(j_1,..,j_n). Interestingly, the integration kernel that appears in the decomposition formula turns out to be the n-point function of bulk/boundary dualities of string theory. Our results provide a new interpretation for this quantity as being, in the limit of large conformal dimensions, the exponential of the Kahler potential of the symplectic manifold whose quantization gives H(j_1,..,j_n). For the case n=4, the symplectic manifold in question has the interpretation of the space of "shapes" of a geometric tetrahedron with fixed face areas, and our results provide a description for the quantum tetrahedron in terms of holomorphic coherent states. We describe how the holomorphic intertwiners are related to the usual real ones by computing their overlap. The semi-classical analysis of these overlap coefficients in the case of large spins allows us to obtain an explicit relation between the real and holomorphic description of the space of shapes of the tetrahedron. Our results are of direct relevance for the subjects of loop quantum gravity and spin foams, but also add an interesting new twist to the story of the bulk/boundary correspondence.

hep-th↗

arXiv2009

Gravity-Yang-Mills-Higgs unification by enlarging the gauge group

We revisit an old idea that gravity can be unified with Yang-Mills theory by enlarging the gauge group of gravity formulated as gauge theory. Our starting point is an action that describes a generally covariant gauge theory for a group G. The Minkowski background breaks the gauge group by selecting in it a preferred gravitational SU(2) subgroup. We expand the action around this background and find the spectrum of linearized theory to consist of the usual gravitons plus Yang-Mills fields charged under the centralizer of the SU(2) in G. In addition, there is a set of Higgs fields that are charged both under the gravitational and Yang-Mills subgroups. These fields are generically massive and interact with both gravity and Yang-Mills sector in the standard way. The arising interaction of the Yang-Mills sector with gravity is also standard. Parameters such as the Yang-Mills coupling constant and Higgs mass arise from the potential function defining the theory. Both are realistic in the sense explained in the paper.

hep-th↗

arXiv2009

Effective metric Lagrangians from an underlying theory with two propagating degrees of freedom

We describe an infinite-parametric class of effective metric Lagrangians that arise from an underlying theory with two propagating degrees of freedom. The Lagrangians start with the Einstein-Hilbert term, continue with the standard R^2, (Ricci)^2 terms, and in the next order contain (Riemann)^3 as well as on-shell vanishing terms. This is exactly the structure of the effective metric Lagrangian that renormalizes quantum gravity divergences at two-loops. This shows that the theory underlying the effective field theory of gravity may have no more degrees of freedom than is already contained in general relativity. We show that the reason why an effective metric theory may describe just two propagating degrees of freedom is that there exists a (non-local) field redefinition that maps an infinitely complicated effective metric Lagrangian to the usual Einstein-Hilbert one. We describe this map for our class of theories and, in particular, exhibit it explicitly for the (Riemann)^3 term.

hep-th↗

arXiv2009

Metric Lagrangians with two propagating degrees of freedom

There exists a large class of generally covariant metric Lagrangians that contain only local terms and describe two propagating degrees of freedom. Trivial examples can be be obtained by applying a local field redefinition to the Lagrangian of general relativity, but we show that the class of two propagating degrees of freedom Lagrangians is much larger. Thus, we exhibit a large family of non-local field redefinitions that map the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian into ones containing only local terms. These redefinitions have origin in the topological shift symmetry of BF theory, to which GR is related in Plebanski formulation, and can be computed order by order as expansions in powers of the Riemann curvature. At its lowest non-trivial order such a field redefinition produces the (Riemann)^3 invariant that arises as the two-loop quantum gravity counterterm. Possible implications for quantum gravity are discussed.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Gravity as BF theory plus potential

Spin foam models of quantum gravity are based on Plebanski's formulation of general relativity as a constrained BF theory. We give an alternative formulation of gravity as BF theory plus a certain potential term for the B-field. When the potential is taken to be infinitely steep one recovers general relativity. For a generic potential the theory still describes gravity in that it propagates just two graviton polarizations. The arising class of theories is of the type amenable to spin foam quantization methods, and, we argue, may allow one to come to terms with renormalization in the spin foam context.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Multi Black Holes and Earthquakes on Riemann surfaces with boundaries

We prove an "Earthquake Theorem" for hyperbolic metrics with geodesic boundary on a compact surfaces $S$ with boundary: given two hyperbolic metrics with geodesic boundary on a surface with $k$ boundary components, there are $2^k$ right earthquakes transforming the first in the second. An alternative formulation arises by introducing the enhanced Teichmueller space of S: We prove that any two points of the latter are related by a unique right earthquake. The proof rests on the geometry of ``multi-black holes'', which are 3-dimensional anti-de Sitter manifolds, topologically the product of a surface with boundary by an interval.

math.GT↗