General Covariance Research Articles

Nothing but coincidences: the point-coincidence and Einstein’s struggle with the meaning of coordinates in physics

In his 1916 review paper on general relativity, Einstein made the often-quoted oracular remark that all physical measurements amount to a determination of coincidences, like the coincidence of a pointer with a mark on a scale. This argument, which was meant to express the requirement of general covariance, immediately gained great resonance. Philosophers such as Schlick found that it expressed the novelty of general relativity, but the mathematician Kretschmann deemed it as trivial and valid in all spacetime theories. With the relevant exception of the physicists of Leiden (Ehrenfest, Lorentz, de Sitter, and Nordström), who were in epistolary contact with Einstein, the motivations behind the point-coincidence remark were not fully understood. Only at the turn of the 1960s did Bergmann (Einstein’s former assistant in Princeton) start to use the term ‘coincidence’ in a way that was much closer to Einstein’s intentions. In the 1980s, Stachel, projecting Bergmann’s analysis onto his historical work on Einstein’s correspondence, was able to show that what he started to call ‘the point-coincidence argument’ was nothing but Einstein’s answer to the infamous ‘hole argument’. The latter has enjoyed enormous popularity in the following decades, reshaping the philosophical debate on spacetime theories. The point-coincidence argument did not receive comparable attention. By reconstructing the history of the argument and its reception, this paper argues that this disparity of treatment is not justified. This paper will also show that the notion that only coincidences are observable in physics marks every critical step of Einstein’s struggle with the meaning of coordinates in physics.

Near-BPS baby Skyrmions with Gaussian tails

We consider the baby Skyrme model in a physically motivated limit of reaching the restricted or BPS baby Skyrme model, which is a model that enjoys area-preserving diffeomorphism invariance. The perturbation consists of the kinetic Dirichlet term with a small coefficient ϵ as well as the standard pion mass term, with coefficient upepsilon {m}_1^2 . The pions remain lighter than the soliton for any ϵ and therefore the model is physically acceptable, even in the ϵ → 0 limit. The version of the BPS baby Skyrme model we use has BPS solutions with Gaussian tails. We perform full numerical computations in the ϵ → 0 limit and even reach the strict ϵ = 0 case, finding new nontrivial BPS solutions, for which we do not yet know the analytic form.

Analytical Solution to FRW Metric with Variable Speed of Light

<p>According to the principle of general covariance, the laws of physics are the same in all reference frames. The controversial theory of the Varying Speed of Light (VSL) contradicts the principle of general covariance. Fortunately the VLS theory explains some crucial issues in cosmology such as Lorentz variance, biometric theories, locally Lorentz variance, cosmological constant problem, horizon<em> </em>and flatness<em> </em>problems. Also, recent astronomical observations from quasar show that the fine structural constant depends on redshift and therefore, varies with cosmological time. In other to harness this fascinating and published knowledge, two models where used in this work. 1. Cosmology with variables c; here the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) is used in the Einstein field equation with variable c and Λ terms to obtain the scale factor, which shows the continuous exponential expansion of the universe. 2. Variation of the speed of light as a function of the scale factor of the universe; here we obtained: a good approximation to estimate the current age of the universe. The scale factor of the universe depends its content given by the equation of state parameter ω. We obtained the deceleration parameter in terms of the Hubble parameter. We arrived at a conclusion that the universe was decelerating at ω = 1, accelerating at ω = 1/3 and the Hubble parameter diverges at the beginning and end of the universe.</p>

LAWS OF MOTION IN THE FRAME THEORIES OF GRAVITY

One of the most striking features of the general relativity (GR) is the fact that the matter that generates gravitational field cannot move arbitrarily, but must obey certain equations that follow from equations of the gravitational field as a condition of their compatibility. This fact was first noted in the fundamental Hilbert's work, in which equations of GR saw the world for the first time as variational Lagrange equations. Hilbert showed that in the case when fulfilling equations of the gravitational field which were born by an electromagnetic field, four linear combinations of equations of the electromagnetic field and their derivatives are zero due to the general covariance of the theory. It is known that this is what stimulated E. Noether to invent her famous theorem.
 As for "solid matter", for the compatibility of equations of the gravitational field, it is necessary that particles of dust matter move along geodesics of Riemannian space, which describes the gravitational field. This fact was pointed out in the work of A. Einstein and J. Grommer and according to V. Fock it is one of the main justifications of GR (although even before the creation of GR it was known that the motion along geodesics is a consequence of the condition of covariant conservation of energy-momentum of matter). This remarkable feature of GR all his life inspired Einstein to search on the basis of GR such theory from which it would be possible to derive all fundamental physics, including quantum mechanics.
 Interest in this problem (following Einstein, we name it the problem of motion) has resumed in our time in connection with the registration of gravitational waves and analysis of the conditions of their radiation, i.e. the need for its direct application in gravitational-wave astronomy.
 In this article we consider the problem to what extent the motion of matter that generates the gravitational field can be arbitrary. Considered problem is analyzed from the point of view symmetry of the theory with respect to the generalized gauge deformed groups without specification of Lagrangians.
 In particular it is shown, that the motion of particles along geodesics of Riemannian space is inherent in an extremely wide range of theories of gravity and is a consequence of the gauge translational invariance of these theories under the condition of fulfilling equations of gravitational field. In addition, we found relationships of equations for some fields that follow from the assumption about fulfilling of equations for other fields, for example, relationships of equations of the gravitational field which follow from the assumption about fulfilling of equations of matter fields.

Variational Principles in Teleparallel Gravity Theories

We study the variational principle and derivation of the field equations for different classes of teleparallel gravity theories, using both their metric-affine and covariant tetrad formulations. These theories have in common that, in addition to the tetrad or metric, they employ a flat connection as additional field variable, but dthey iffer by the presence of absence of torsion and nonmetricity for this independent connection. Besides the different underlying geometric formulation using a tetrad or metric as fundamental field variable, one has different choices to introduce the conditions of vanishing curvature, torsion, and nonmetricity, either by imposing them a priori and correspondingly restricting the variation of the action when the field equations are derived, or by using Lagrange multipliers. Special care must be taken, since these conditions form non-holonomic constraints. Here, we explicitly show that all of the aforementioned approaches are equivalent, and that the same set of field equations is obtained, independently of the choice of the geometric formulation and variation procedure. We further discuss the consequences arising from the diffeomorphism invariance of the gravitational action, and show how they establish relations between the gravitational field equations.

A new paradox and the reconciliation of Lorentz and Galilean transformations

One of the most debated problems in the foundations of the special relativity theory is the role of conventionality. A common belief is that the Lorentz transformation is correct but the Galilean transformation is wrong (only approximately correct in low speed limit). It is another common belief that the Galilean transformation is incompatible with Maxwell equations. However, the “principle of general covariance” in general relativity makes any spacetime coordinate transformation equally valid. This includes the Galilean transformation as well. This renders a new paradox. This new paradox is resolved with the argument that the Galilean transformation is equivalent to the Lorentz transformation. The resolution of this new paradox also provides the most straightforward resolution of an older paradox which is due to Selleri in (Found Phys Lett 10:73–83, 1997). I also present a consistent electrodynamics formulation including Maxwell equations and electromagnetic wave equations under the Galilean transformation, in the exact form for any high speed, rather than in low speed approximation. Electrodynamics in rotating reference frames is rarely addressed in textbooks. The presented formulation of electrodynamics under the Galilean transformation even works well in rotating frames if we replace the constant velocity mathbf {v} with mathbf {v}=varvec{omega }times mathbf {r}. This provides a practical tool for applications of electrodynamics in rotating frames. When electrodynamics is concerned, between two inertial reference frames, both Galilean and Lorentz transformations are equally valid, but the Lorentz transformation is more convenient. In rotating frames, although the Galilean electrodynamics does not seem convenient, it could be the most convenient formulation compared with other transformations, due to the intrinsic complex nature of the problem.

Causality in gravitational theories with second order equations of motion

This paper considers diffeomorphism invariant theories of gravity coupled to matter, with second order equations of motion. This includes Einstein-Maxwell and Einstein-scalar field theory with (after field redefinitions) the most general parity-symmetric four-derivative effective field theory corrections. A gauge-invariant approach is used to study the characteristics associated to the physical degrees of freedom in an arbitrary background solution. The symmetries of the principal symbol arising from diffeomorphism invariance and the action principle are determined. For gravity coupled to a single scalar field (i.e. a Horndeski theory) it is shown that causality is governed by a characteristic polynomial of degree $6$ which factorises into a product of quadratic and quartic polynomials. The former is defined in terms of an "effective metric" and is associated with a "purely gravitational" polarisation, whereas the latter generically involves a mixture of gravitational and scalar field polarisations. The "fastest" degrees of freedom are associated with the quartic polynomial, which defines a surface analogous to the Fresnel surface in crystal optics. In contrast with optics, this surface is generically non-singular except on certain surfaces in spacetime. It is shown that a Killing horizon is an example of such a surface. It is also shown that a Killing horizon satisfies the zeroth law of black hole mechanics. The characteristic polynomial defines a cone in the cotangent space and a dual cone in the tangent space. The latter is used to define basic notions of causality and to provide a definition of a dynamical black hole in these theories.

Continuum limit of the conformal sector at second order in perturbation theory

Recently a novel perturbative continuum limit for quantum gravity has been proposed and demonstrated to work at first order. Every interaction monomial $\sigma$ is dressed with a coefficient function $f^\sigma_\Lambda(\varphi)$ of the conformal factor field, $\varphi$. Each coefficient function is parametrised by an infinite number of underlying couplings, and decays at large $\varphi$ with a characteristic amplitude suppression scale which can be chosen to be at a common value, $\Lambda_\text{p}$. Although the theory is perturbative in couplings it is non-perturbative in $\hbar$. At second order in perturbation theory, one must sum over all melonic Feynman diagrams to obtain the particular integral. We show that it leads to a well defined renormalized trajectory and thus continuum limit, provided it is solved by starting at an arbitrary cutoff scale $\Lambda=\mu$ which lies in the range $0<\mu<a\Lambda_\text{p}$ ($a$ some non-universal number). If $\mu$ lies above this range the resulting coefficient functions become singular, and the flow ceases to exist, before the physical limit is reached. To this one must add a well-behaved complementary solution, containing irrelevant couplings determined uniquely by the first-order interactions, and renormalized relevant couplings. Even though some irrelevant couplings diverge in the limit $\Lambda_\text{p}\to\infty$, domains for the underlying relevant couplings can be chosen such that diffeomorphism invariance will be recovered in this limit, and where the underlying couplings disappear to be replaced by effective diffeomorphism invariant couplings.

Gravity with Explicit Diffeomorphism Breaking

Modified theories of gravity that explicitly break diffeomorphism invariance have been used for over a decade to explore open issues related to quantum gravity, dark energy, and dark matter. At the same time, the Standard-Model Extension (SME) has been widely used as a phenomenological framework in investigations of spacetime symmetry breaking. Until recently, it was thought that the SME was suitable only for theories with spontaneous spacetime symmetry breaking due to consistency conditions stemming from the Bianchi identities. However, it has recently been shown that, particularly with matter couplings included, the consistency conditions can also be satisfied in theories with explicit breaking. An overview of how this is achieved is presented, and two examples are examined. The first is massive gravity, which includes a nondynamical background tensor. The second is a model based on a low-energy limit of Hořava gravity, where spacetime has a physically preferred foliation. In both cases, bounds on matter–gravity interactions that explicitly break diffeomorphisms are obtained using the SME.

Dimensionless Physics

We discuss two scenarios of emergent gravity. In one of them the quantum vacuum is considered as superplastic crystal, and the effective gravity describes the dynamical elastic deformations of this crystal. In the other one the gravitational tetrads emerge as the bilinear form of the fermionic fields. In spite of the essentially different mechanisms of emergent gravity, these two scenarios have one important common property: the metric field has dimension of the inverse square of length $[g_{\mu\nu}]=1/[l]^2$, as distinct from the conventional dimensionless metric, $[g_{\mu\nu}]=1$, in general relativity. As a result the physical quantities, which obey diffeomorphism invariance, become dimensionless. This takes place for such quantities as Newton constant, the scalar curvature, the cosmological constant, particle masses, fermionic and scalar bosonic fields, etc. This may suggest that the dimensionless physics can be the natural consequence of the diffeomorphism invariance, and thus can be the general property of any gravity, which emerges in the quantum vacuum. One of the nontrivial consequences of the shift of dimensions is related to topology. Due to the shift of dimensions some operators become topological, and contain the integer or fractional prefactors in the action. This in particular concerns the intrinsic 3+1 quantum Hall effect and the Nieh-Yan quantum anomaly in terms of torsion.

Weakening gravity for dark matter in a type-II minimally modified gravity

We propose a new cosmological framework in which the strength of the gravitational force acted on dark matter at late time can be weaker than that on the standard matter fields without introducing extra gravitational degrees of freedom. The framework integrates dark matter into a type-II minimally modified gravity that was recently proposed as a dark energy mimicker. The idea that makes such a framework possible consists of coupling a dark matter Lagrangian and a cosmological constant to the metric in a canonically transformed frame of general relativity (GR). On imposing a gauge fixing constraint, which explicitly breaks the temporal diffeomorphism invariance, we keep the number of gravitational degrees of freedom to be two, as in GR. We then make the inverse canonical transformation to bring the theory back to the original frame, where one can add the standard matter fields. This framework contains two free functions of time which specify the generating functional of the above mentioned canonical transformation and which are then used in order to realize desired time evolutions of both the Hubble expansion rate H(z) and the effective gravitational constant for dark matter Geff(z). The aim of this paper is therefore to provide a new framework to address the two puzzles present in today's cosmology, i.e. the H0 tension and the S8 tension, simultaneously. When the dark matter is cold in this framework, we dub the corresponding cosmological model the V Canonical Cold Dark Matter (VCCDM), as the cosmological constant Λ in the standard ΛCDM is replaced by a function V(ϕ) of an auxiliary field ϕ and the CDM is minimally coupled to the metric in a canonically transformed frame.

A manifestly covariant theory of multifield stochastic inflation in phase space: solving the discretisation ambiguity in stochastic inflation

Stochastic inflation is an effective theory describing the super-Hubble, coarse-grained, scalar fields driving inflation, by a set of Langevin equations. We previously highlighted the difficulty of deriving a theory of stochastic inflation that is invariant under field redefinitions, and the link with the ambiguity of discretisation schemes defining stochastic differential equations. In this paper, we solve the issue of these "inflationary stochastic anomalies" by using the Stratonovich discretisation satisfying general covariance, and identifying that the quantum nature of the fluctuating fields entails the existence of a preferred frame defining independent stochastic noises. Moreover, we derive physically equivalent Itô-Langevin equations that are manifestly covariant and well suited for numerical computations. These equations are formulated in the general context of multifield inflation with curved field space, taking into account the coupling to gravity as well as the full phase space in the Hamiltonian language, but this resolution is also relevant in simpler single-field setups. We also develop a path-integral derivation of these equations, which solves conceptual issues of the heuristic approach made at the level of the classical equations of motion, and allows in principle to compute corrections to the stochastic formalism. Using the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism, we integrate out small-scale fluctuations, derive the influence action that describes their effects on the coarse-grained fields, and show how the resulting coarse-grained effective Hamiltonian action can be interpreted to derive Langevin equations with manifestly real noises. Although the corresponding dynamics is not rigorously Markovian, we show the covariant, phase-space Fokker-Planck equation for the Probability Density Function of fields and momenta when the Markovian approximation is relevant, and we give analytical approximations for the noises' amplitudes in multifield scenarios.

Alternating DCA for reduced-rank multitask linear regression with covariance matrix estimation

We study a challenging problem in machine learning that is the reduced-rank multitask linear regression with covariance matrix estimation. The objective is to build a linear relationship between multiple output variables and input variables of a multitask learning process, taking into account the general covariance structure for the errors of the regression model in one hand, and reduced-rank regression model in another hand. The problem is formulated as minimizing a nonconvex function in two joint matrix variables (X,Θ) under the low-rank constraint on X and positive definiteness constraint on Θ. It has a double difficulty due to the non-convexity of the objective function as well as the low-rank constraint. We investigate a nonconvex, nonsmooth optimization approach based on DC (Difference of Convex functions) programming and DCA (DC Algorithm) for this hard problem. A penalty reformulation is considered which takes the form of a partial DC program. An alternating DCA and its inexact version are developed, both algorithms converge to a weak critical point of the considered problem. Numerical experiments are performed on several synthetic and benchmark real multitask linear regression datasets. The numerical results show the performance of the proposed algorithms and their superiority compared with three classical alternating/joint methods.

Nielsen equivalence and trisections

The goal of this paper is to construct distinct trisections of the same genus on a fixed 4-manifold. For every $$k \ge 2$$ , we exhibit infinitely many manifolds with $$2^{k}-1$$ non-diffeomorphic (3k, k)-trisections. Here, the manifolds are spun Seifert fiber spaces and the trisections come from Meier’s spun trisections. The technique used to distinguish the trisections parallels a common setup for distinguishing Heegaard splittings. In particular, we show that the Nielsen classes of the generators of the fundamental group, obtained from spines of the 4-dimensional 1-handlebodies of the trisection, are isotopy invariants of the trisection. If we additionally consider the action of the automorphism group on the Nielsen classes we obtain diffeomorphism invariants. Once the invariance is established, we analyze the Nielsen classes of the spun trisections in terms of the Nielsen classes of the original Heegaard splitting, and leverage work of Lustig, Moriah, and Rosenberger on Nielsen classes of Fuchsian groups in order to distinguish the trisections.

A Pedagogical Model of General Covariance Coupling Electrodynamics and Gravitation

In his 1951 model of the effects of a star’s radiation on its gravitation, P.C. Vaidya used radiation fields of flat spacetime. Wondering why Vaidya did not include the effects of gravitation on electrodynamics, we apply the principle of general covariance to gravitation and radiation. Others have addressed this problem with numerical methods, but, like Vaidya, we seek an analytic solution. Along the way, we see how prescient was Vaidya’s choice in modeling the radiation. Pursued originally as a pedagogical exercise with undergraduate physicists, our results compare favorably to similar models, and illustrate general relativity theorems. Given recent interest in teaching general relativity to undergraduates, a system that couples gravitation and electrodynamics and is solvable with elementary integrations may hold pedagogical interest.

Quantum Gravity: A Fluctuating Point of View

In this contribution, we discuss the asymptotic safety scenario for quantum gravity with a functional renormalization group approach that disentangles dynamical metric fluctuations from the background metric. We review the state of the art in pure gravity and general gravity–matter systems. This includes the discussion of results on the existence and properties of the asymptotically safe ultraviolet fixed point, full ultraviolet-infrared trajectories with classical gravity in the infrared, and the curvature dependence of couplings also in gravity–matter systems. The results in gravity–matter systems concern the ultraviolet stability of the fixed point and the dominance of gravity fluctuations in minimally coupled gravity–matter systems. Furthermore, we discuss important physics properties such as locality of the theory, diffeomorphism invariance, background independence, unitarity, and access to observables, as well as open challenges.

A General Propensity Score for Signal Identification Using Tree-Based Scan Statistics

The tree-based scan statistic (TreeScan; Martin Kulldorff, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts) is a data-mining method that adjusts for multiple testing of correlated hypotheses when screening thousands of potential adverse events for signal identification. Simulation has demonstrated the promise of TreeScan with a propensity score (PS)-matched cohort design. However, it is unclear which variables to include in a PS for applied signal identification studies to simultaneously adjust for confounding across potential outcomes. We selected 4 pairs of medications with well-understood safety profiles. For each pair, we evaluated 5 candidate PSs with different combinations of 1) predefined general covariates (comorbidity, frailty, utilization), 2) empirically selected (data-driven) covariates, and 3) covariates tailored to the drug pair. For each pair, statistical alerting patterns were similar with alternative PSs (≤11 alerts in 7,996 outcomes scanned). Inclusion of covariates tailored to exposure did not appreciably affect screening results. Inclusion of empirically selected covariates can provide better proxy coverage for confounders but can also decrease statistical power. Unlike tailored covariates, empirical and predefined general covariates can be applied "out of the box" for signal identification. The choice of PS depends on the level of concern about residual confounding versus loss of power. Potential signals should be followed by pharmacoepidemiologic assessment where confounding control is tailored to the specific outcome(s) under investigation.

Regularization of the cosmological sector of loop quantum gravity with bosonic matter and the related problems with general covariance of quantum corrections

This article concerns the problems regarding different lattice regularization techniques for the matter fields of Hamiltonian constraints defined in the framework of loop quantum gravity. The analysis is formulated in the phase space-reduced cosmological model of the hypothetical theory of canonical quantum general relativity. This article explains why a different than links-related lattice smearing of fields leads to a local violation of general covariance. This happens by assuming, for instance, the nodes-related smearing. Therefore, this problem occurs in the case of any polymerlike scalar field quantization method by breaking the background independence of the semiclassical predictions. In consequence, the diffeomorphism symmetry that depends on a links distribution is broken locally at the level of generally relativistic corrections. Moreover, by using the phase space-reduced gauge fixing technique to analyze this issue, the results are general and they concern any coupling with the links-regularized gravitational degrees of freedom in loop quantum gravity. Therefore, they lead to the following no-go conclusion. Any lattice smearing of matter, not defined by using the geometrical distribution specified by the links-fluxes duality, violates the general principle of relativity.

The Principle of Covariance and the Hamiltonian Formulation of General Relativity.

The implications of the general covariance principle for the establishment of a Hamiltonian variational formulation of classical General Relativity are addressed. The analysis is performed in the framework of the Einstein-Hilbert variational theory. Preliminarily, customary Lagrangian variational principles are reviewed, pointing out the existence of a novel variational formulation in which the class of variations remains unconstrained. As a second step, the conditions of validity of the non-manifestly covariant ADM variational theory are questioned. The main result concerns the proof of its intrinsic non-Hamiltonian character and the failure of this approach in providing a symplectic structure of space-time. In contrast, it is demonstrated that a solution reconciling the physical requirements of covariance and manifest covariance of variational theory with the existence of a classical Hamiltonian structure for the gravitational field can be reached in the framework of synchronous variational principles. Both path-integral and volume-integral realizations of the Hamilton variational principle are explicitly determined and the corresponding physical interpretations are pointed out.

Einstein’s Principle of Equivalence and the Heuristic Significance of General Covariance

The philosophy of physics literature contains conflicting claims on the heuristic significance of general covariance. Some authors maintain that Einstein's general relativity distinguishes itself from other theories in that it must be generally covariant, for example, while others argue that general covariance is a physically vacuous and trivial requirement applicable to virtually any theory. Moreover, when general covariance is invested with heuristic significance, that significance as a rule is assigned to so-called “active” general covariance (or diffeomorphism equivalence), underwritten by the principle of background independence, rather than to general covriance as Einstein understood it (in the sense of coordinate transformations). While agreeing with the latter group of commentators that general covariance indeed carries heuristic significance, I argue that a background independent theory need not be generally covariant and that instead the Principle of Equivalence as Einstein understood it (i.e., not the infinitesimal version of the principle) provides the key to understanding the heuristic power of general covariance as a “mathematical sieve” for determining the gravitational field law. However, heuristic significance accrues to general covariance only indirectly, by its encompassing the relativity of frames underwritten by Einstein's principle of equivalence.