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Yongge Ma

Publications and source records attributed to Yongge Ma.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Loop quantum modified gravity and its cosmological application

A general nonperturvative loop quantization procedure for metric modified gravity is reviewed. As an example, this procedure is applied to scalar-tensor theories of gravity. The quantum kinematical framework of these theories is rigorously constructed. Both the Hamiltonian and master constraint operators are well defined and proposed to represent quantum dynamics of scalar-tensor theories. As an application to models, we set up the basic structure of loop quantum Brans-Dicke cosmology. The effective dynamical equations of loop quantum Brans-Dicke cosmology are also obtained, which lay a foundation for the phenomenological investigation to possible quantum gravity effects in cosmology.

gr-qc↗

Path Integrals and Alternative Effective Dynamics in Loop Quantum Cosmology

The alternative dynamics of loop quantum cosmology is examined by the path integral formulation. We consider the spatially flat FRW models with a massless scalar field, where the alternative quantization inherit more features from full loop quantum gravity. The path integrals can be formulated in both timeless and deparameterized frameworks. It turns out that the effective Hamiltonians derived from the two different viewpoints are equivalent to each other. Moreover, the first-order modified Friedmann equations are derived and predict quantum bounces for contracting universe, which coincide with those obtained in canonical theory.

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Coherent State Functional Integral in Loop Quantum Cosmology: Alternative Dynamics

Coherent state functional integral for the minisuperspace model of loop quantum cosmology is studied. By the well-established canonical theory, the transition amplitude in the path integral representation of loop quantum cosmology with alternative dynamics can be formulated through group averaging. The effective action and Hamiltonian with higher-order quantum corrections are thus obtained. It turns out that for a non-symmetric Hamiltonian constraint operator, the Moyal (star)-product emerges naturally in the effective Hamiltonian. For the corresponding symmetric Hamiltonian operator, the resulted effective theory implies a possible quantum cosmological effect in large scale limit in the alternative dynamical scenario, which coincides with the result in canonical approach. Moreover, the first-order modified Friedmann equation still contains the particular information of alternative dynamics and hence admits the possible phenomenological distinction between the different proposals of quantum dynamics.

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Hamiltonian Analysis of $R + T^2$ Action

We study a gravitational action which is a linear combination of the Hilbert-Palatini term and a term quadratic in torsion and possessing local Poincare invariance. Although this action yields the same equations of motion as General Relativity, the detailed Hamiltonian analysis without gauge fixing reveals some new points never shown in the Hilbert-Palatini formalism. These include that an additional term containing torsion appears in the spatial diffeomorphism constraint and that the primary second-class constraints have to be imposed in a manner different from that in the Hilbert-Palatini case. These results may provide valuable lessons for further study of Hamiltonian systems with torsion.

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Coherent State Functional Integrals in Quantum Cosmology

Coherent state functional integrals for the minisuperspace models of quantum cosmology are studied. By the well-established canonical theories, the transition amplitudes in the path-integral representations of Wheeler-DeWitt quantum cosmology and loop quantum cosmology can be formulated through group averaging. The effective action and Hamiltonian with higher-order quantum corrections are thus obtained in both models. It turns out that for a non-symmetric Hamiltonian constraint operator, the Moyal (star)-product emerges naturally in the effective Hamiltonian. This reveals the intrinsic relation among coherent state functional integral, effective theory and star-product. Moreover, both the resulted effective theories imply a possible quantum cosmological effect in large scale limit.

gr-qc↗

Extension of Loop Quantum Gravity to Metric Theories beyond General Relativity

The successful background-independent quantization of Loop Quantum Gravity relies on the key observation that classical General Relativity can be cast into the connection-dynamical formalism with the structure group of SU(2). Due to this particular formalism, Loop Quantum Gravity was generally considered as a quantization scheme that applies only to General Relativity. However, we will show that the nonperturbative quantization procedure of Loop Quantum Gravity can be extended to a rather general class of metric theories of gravity, which have received increased attention recently due to motivations coming form cosmology and astrophysics. In particular, we will first introduce how to reformulate the 4-dimensional metric $f(R)$ theories of gravity, as well as Brans-Dicke theory, into connection-dynamical formalism with real SU(2) connections as configuration variables. Through these formalisms, we then outline the nonpertubative canonical quantization of the $f(R)$ theories and Brans-Dicke theory by extending the loop quantization scheme of General Relativity.

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Loop Quantum Brans-Dicke Theory

The loop quantization of Brans-Dicke theory (with coupling parameter $ω\neq-3/2$) is studied. In the geometry-dynamical formalism, the canonical structure and constraint algebra of this theory are similar to those of general relativity coupled with a scalar field. The connection dynamical formalism of the Brans-Dicke theory with real $su(2)$-connections as configuration variables is obtained by canonical transformations. The quantum kinematical Hilbert space of Brans-Dicke theory is constituted as of that loop quantum gravity coupled with a polymer-like scalar field. The Hamiltonian constraint is promoted as a well defined operator to represent quantum dynamics. This formalism enable us to extend the scheme of non-perturbative loop quantum gravity to the Brans-Dicke theory.

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Nonperturbative Loop Quantization of Scalar-Tensor Theories of Gravity

The Hamiltonian formulation of scalar-tensor theories of gravity is derived from their Lagrangian formulation by Hamiltonian analysis. The Hamiltonian formalism marks off two sectors of the theories by the coupling parameter $ω(ϕ)$. In the sector of $ω(ϕ)=-3/2$, the feasible theories are restricted and a new primary constraint generating conformal transformations of spacetime is obtained, while in the other sector of $ω(ϕ)\neq-3/2$, the canonical structure and constraint algebra of the theories are similar to those of general relativity coupled with a scalar field. By canonical transformations, we further obtain the connection dynamical formalism of the scalar-tensor theories with real $su(2)$-connections as configuration variables in both sectors. This formalism enables us to extend the scheme of non-perturbative loop quantum gravity to the scalar-tensor theories. The quantum kinematical framework for the scalar-tensor theories is rigorously constructed. Both the Hamiltonian constraint operator and master constraint operator are well defined and proposed to represent quantum dynamics. Thus loop quantum gravity method is also valid for general scalar-tensor theories.

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Loop quantum $f(R)$ theories

As modified gravity theories, the 4-dimensional metric $f(R)$ theories are cast into connection dynamical formalism with real $su(2)$-connections as configuration variables. This formalism enables us to extend the non-perturbative loop quantization scheme of general relativity to any metric $f(R)$ theories. The quantum kinematical framework of $f(R)$ gravity is rigorously constructed, where the quantum dynamics can be launched. Both Hamiltonian constraint operator and master constraint operator for $f(R)$ theories are well defined. Our results show that the non-perturbative quantization procedure of loop quantum gravity are valid not only for general relativity but also for a rather general class of 4-dimensional metric theories of gravity.

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Path Integral and Effective Hamiltonian in Loop Quantum Cosmology

We study the path integral formulation of Friedmann universe filled with a massless scalar field in loop quantum cosmology. All the isotropic models of $k=0,+1,-1$ are considered. To construct the path integrals in the timeless framework, a multiple group-averaging approach is proposed. Meanwhile, since the transition amplitude in the deparameterized framework can be expressed in terms of group-averaging, the path integrals can be formulated for both deparameterized and timeless frameworks. Their relation is clarified. It turns out that the effective Hamiltonian derived from the path integral in deparameterized framework is equivalent to the effective Hamiltonian constraint derived from the path integral in timeless framework, since they lead to same equations of motion. Moreover, the effective Hamiltonian constraints of above models derived in canonical theory are confirmed by the path integral formulation.

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Extension of loop quantum gravity to $f(R)$ theories

The 4-dimensional metric $f(\R)$ theories of gravity are cast into connection-dynamical formalism with real $\SU(2)$-connections as configuration variables. Through this formalism, the classical metric $f(\R)$ theories are quantized by extending the loop quantization scheme of general relativity. Our results imply that the non-perturbative quantization procedure of loop quantum gravity is valid not only for general relativity but also for a rather general class of 4-dimensional metric theories of gravity.

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New length operator for loop quantum gravity

An alternative expression for the length operator in loop quantum gravity is presented. The operator is background independent, symmetric, positive semidefinite, and well defined on the kinematical Hilbert space. The expression for the regularized length operator can moreover be understood both from a simple geometrical perspective as the average of a formula relating the length to area, volume and flux operators, and also consistently as the result of direct substitution of the densitized triad operator with the functional derivative operator into the regularized expression of the length. Both these derivations are discussed, and the origin of an undetermined overall factor in each case is also elucidated.

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Dark Energy Interacting with Dark Matter in Classical Einstein and Loop Quantum Cosmology

The cosmological model of dark energy interacting with cold dark matter without coupling to the baryonic matter, is studied in the background of both classical Einstein and loop quantum cosmology. We consider two types of interacting models. In the former model, the interaction is a linear combination of the densities of two dark sectors, while in the latter model, the interaction with a constant transfer rate depends only on the density of cold dark matter. It is shown that the dynamical results in loop quantum cosmology are different from those in classical Einstein cosmology for both two kinds of interacting models. Moreover, the form of the interaction affects significantly the dynamical results in both kinds of cosmology.

astro-ph.CO↗

Five-dimensional metric $f(R)$ gravity and the accelerated universe

The metric $f(R)$ theories of gravity are generalized to five-dimensional spacetimes. By assuming a hypersurface-orthogonal Killing vector field representing the compact fifth dimension, the five-dimensional theories are reduced to their four-dimensional formalism. Then we study the cosmology of a special class of $f(R)=αR^m$ models in a spatially flat FRW spacetime. It is shown that the parameter $m$ can be constrained to a certain range by the current observed deceleration parameter, and its lower bound corresponds to the Kaluza-Klein theory. It turns out that both expansion and contraction of the extra dimension may prescribe the smooth transition from the deceleration era to the acceleration era in the recent past as well as an accelerated scenario for the present universe. Hence five-dimensional $f(R)$ gravity can naturally account for the present accelerated expansion of the universe. Moreover, the models predict a transition from acceleration to deceleration in the future, followed by a cosmic recollapse within finite time. This differs from the prediction of the five-dimensional Brans-Dicke theory but is in consistent with a recent prediction based on loop quantum cosmology.

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Quasi-Local Energy in Loop Quantum Gravity

Although there is no known meaningful notion of the energy density of the gravitational field in general relativity, a few notions of quasi-local energy of gravity associated to extended but finite domains have been proposed. In this paper, the notions of quasi-local energy are studied in the framework of loop quantum gravity, in order to see whether these notions can be carried out at quantum level. Two basic quasi-local geometric quantities are quantized, which lead to well-defined operators in the kinematical Hilbert space of loop quantum gravity. We then use them as basic building blocks to construct different versions of quasi-local energy operators. The operators corresponding to Brown-York energy, Liu-Yau energy, Hawking energy, and Geroch energy are obtained respectively. The virtue of the Geroch energy operator is beneficial for us to derive a rather general entropy-area relation and thus a holographic principle from loop quantum gravity.

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Cosmological Implications of 5-dimensional Brans-Dicke Theory

The five dimensional Brans-Dicke theory naturally provides two scalar fields by the Killing reduction mechanism. These two scalar fields could account for the accelerated expansion of the universe. We test this model and constrain its parameter by using the type Ia supernova (SN Ia) data. We find that the best fit value of the 5-dimensional Brans-Dicke coupling contant is $ω= -1.9$. This result is also consistent with other observations such as the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO).

astro-ph.CO↗

Emergence of scalar matter from spinfoam model

A spinfoam model of 3D gravity non-minimally coupled with a scalar field is studied. By discretization of the scalar field, the model is worked out precisely in a purely combinational way. It is shown that the quantum physics of the scalar matter are totally encoded into the modified dynamics of SU(2) spin-network states which describe the quantum geometry of space. It turns out that the physics of the scalar matter coupled with gravity manifested in the low energy scale can be viewed as the phenomena emerged from this microscopical construction. This gives rise to a radical observation on the issue of the unification of geometry and matter.

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Dynamical Evolution of Interacting Modified Chaplygin Gas

The cosmological model of the modified Chaplygin gas interacting with cold dark matter is studied. Our attention is focused on the final state of universe in the model. It turns out that there exists a stable scaling solution, which provides the possibility to alleviate the coincidence problem. In addition, we investigate the effect of the coupling constants $c_{1}$ and $c_{2}$ on the dynamical evolution of this model from the statefinder viewpoint. It is found that the coupling constants play a significant role during the dynamical evolution of the interacting MCG model. Furthermore, we can distinguish this interacting model from other dark energy models in the $s-r$ plane.

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