Noncovariance of “covariant polymerization” in models of loop quantum gravity

Abstract

It is possible to implement a certain form of modified gravity inspired by loop quantization through non-bijective canonical transformations. The canonical nature might suggest that such modifications are guaranteed to preserve general covariance. Here, however, we show that a dedicated space-time analysis is still required, even in the case of a bijective canonical transformation. In addition, a complete global analysis is presented for a recent proposal of a non-bijective transformation, showing that it does not preserve general covariance and that the only novel physical effect introduced by the modification is the presence of certain time-reversal hypersurfaces between classical space-time regions. These results provide further insights into the physical interpretation of modified dynamics in models of loop quantum gravity.