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Metric-affine gravitation theory

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In comparison with General Relativity, dynamic variables of metric-affine gravitation theory are both a pseudo-Riemannian metric and a general linear connection on a world manifold . Metric-affine gravitation theory has been suggested as a natural generalization of Einstein–Cartan theory of gravity with torsion where a linear connection obeys the condition that a covariant derivative of a metric equals zero.[1]

Metric-affine gravitation theory straightforwardly comes from gauge gravitation theory where a general linear connection plays the role of a gauge field.[2] Let be the tangent bundle over a manifold provided with bundle coordinates . A general linear connection on is represented by a connection tangent-valued form:

[3]

It is associated to a principal connection on the principal frame bundle of frames in the tangent spaces to whose structure group is a general linear group .[4] Consequently, it can be treated as a gauge field. A pseudo-Riemannian metric on is defined as a global section of the quotient bundle , where is the Lorentz group. Therefore, one can regard it as a classical Higgs field in gauge gravitation theory. Gauge symmetries of metric-affine gravitation theory are general covariant transformations.

It is essential that, given a pseudo-Riemannian metric , any linear connection on admits a splitting

in the Christoffel symbols

a nonmetricity tensor

and a contorsion tensor

where

is the torsion tensor of .

Due to this splitting, metric-affine gravitation theory possesses a different collection of dynamic variables which are a pseudo-Riemannian metric, a non-metricity tensor and a torsion tensor. As a consequence, a Lagrangian of metric-affine gravitation theory can contain different terms expressed both in a curvature of a connection and its torsion and non-metricity tensors. In particular, a metric-affine f(R) gravity, whose Lagrangian is an arbitrary function of a scalar curvature of , is considered.

A linear connection is called the metric connection for a pseudo-Riemannian metric if is its integral section, i.e., the metricity condition

holds. A metric connection reads

For instance, the Levi-Civita connection in General Relativity is a torsion-free metric connection.

A metric connection is associated to a principal connection on a Lorentz reduced subbundle of the frame bundle corresponding to a section of the quotient bundle . Restricted to metric connections, metric-affine gravitation theory comes to the above-mentioned Einstein – Cartan gravitation theory.

At the same time, any linear connection defines a principal adapted connection on a Lorentz reduced subbundle by its restriction to a Lorentz subalgebra of a Lie algebra of a general linear group . For instance, the Dirac operator in metric-affine gravitation theory in the presence of a general linear connection is well defined, and it depends just of the adapted connection . Therefore, Einstein–Cartan gravitation theory can be formulated as the metric-affine one, without appealing to the metricity constraint.

In metric-affine gravitation theory, in comparison with the Einstein – Cartan one, a question on a matter source of a non-metricity tensor arises. It is so called hypermomentum, e.g., a Noether current of a scaling symmetry.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hehl, F. W.; McCrea, J. D.; Mielke, E. W.; Ne'eman, Y. (July 1995). "Metric-Affine Gauge Theory of Gravity: Field Equations, Noether Identities, World Spinors, and Breaking of Dilation Invariance". Physics Reports. 258 (1–2): 1–171. arXiv:gr-qc/9402012. doi:10.1016/0370-1573(94)00111-F.
  2. ^ Lord, Eric A. (February 1978). "The metric-affine gravitational theory as the gauge theory of the affine group". Physics Letters A. 65 (1): 1–4. doi:10.1016/0375-9601(78)90113-5.
  3. ^ Gubser, S. S.; Klebanov, I. R.; Polyakov, A. M. (1998-05-28). "Gauge theory correlators from non-critical string theory". Physics Letters B. 428 (1): 105–114. arXiv:hep-th/9802109. doi:10.1016/S0370-2693(98)00377-3. ISSN 0370-2693.
  4. ^ Sardanashvily, G. (2002). "On the geometric foundation of classical gauge gravitation theory". arXiv:gr-qc/0201074.