Weyl Gauge Research Articles

A note on noncompact and nonmetricit quadratic curvature gravity theories

In this note, we evaluate the Weyl-invariant quadratic curvature tensors for the particular Weyl gauge field constructed in the $3+1$-dimensional noncompact Weyl-Einstein-Yang-Mills model. We subsequently extend the model to its higher curvature version. We also compute the Weyl-invariant extension of the topological Gauss-Bonnet term for this specific choice of vector field.

Proof of the Spin Statistics Connection 2: Relativistic Theory

The traditional standard theory of quantum mechanics is unable to solve the spin–statistics problem, i.e. to justify the utterly important “Pauli Exclusion Principle” but by the adoption of the complex standard relativistic quantum field theory. In a recent paper (Santamato and De Martini in Found Phys 45(7):858–873, 2015) we presented a proof of the spin–statistics problem in the nonrelativistic approximation on the basis of the “Conformal Quantum Geometrodynamics”. In the present paper, by the same theory the proof of the spin–statistics theorem is extended to the relativistic domain in the general scenario of curved spacetime. The relativistic approach allows to formulate a manifestly step-by-step Weyl gauge invariant theory and to emphasize some fundamental aspects of group theory in the demonstration. No relativistic quantum field operators are used and the particle exchange properties are drawn from the conservation of the intrinsic helicity of elementary particles. It is therefore this property, not considered in the standard quantum mechanics, which determines the correct spin–statistics connection observed in Nature (Santamato and De Martini in Found Phys 45(7):858–873, 2015). The present proof of the spin–statistics theorem is simpler than the one presented in Santamato and De Martini (Found Phys 45(7):858–873, 2015), because it is based on symmetry group considerations only, without having recourse to frames attached to the particles. Second quantization and anticommuting operators are not necessary.

Wilson loop in light-front quantization

Using Dirac's method for the quantization of constrained systems QED is canonically quantized in the front form in a gauge which is the light-front analog of the Weyl gauge. From the obtained vacuum wave functional the spatial Wilson loop is calculated. The result known from the canonical instant-form quantization or from the covariant path integral quantization is found only if the static limit ${x}^{+}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$ is taken in a specific order. The same ambiguity is also found in the static photon propagator in coordinate space.

Scale-invariant gauge theories of gravity: Theoretical foundations

We consider the construction of gauge theories of gravity, focussing in particular on the extension of local Poincaré invariance to include invariance under local changes of scale. We work exclusively in terms of finite transformations, which allow for a more transparent interpretation of such theories in terms of gauge fields in Minkowski spacetime. Our approach therefore differs from the usual geometrical description of locally scale-invariant Poincaré gauge theory (PGT) and Weyl gauge theory (WGT) in terms of Riemann–Cartan and Weyl–Cartan spacetimes, respectively. In particular, we reconsider the interpretation of the Einstein gauge and also the equations of motion of matter fields and test particles in these theories. Inspired by the observation that the PGT and WGT matter actions for the Dirac field and electromagnetic field have more general invariance properties than those imposed by construction, we go on to present a novel alternative to WGT by considering an “extended” form for the transformation law of the rotational gauge field under local dilations, which includes its “normal” transformation law in WGT as a special case. The resulting “extended” Weyl gauge theory (eWGT) has a number of interesting features that we describe in detail. In particular, we present a new scale-invariant gauge theory of gravity that accommodates ordinary matter and is defined by the most general parity-invariant eWGT Lagrangian that is at most quadratic in the eWGT field strengths, and we derive its field equations. We also consider the construction of PGTs that are invariant under local dilations assuming either the “normal” or “extended” transformation law for the rotational gauge field, but show that they are special cases of WGT and eWGT, respectively.

Proof of the spin-statistics theorem in the relativistic regimen by Weyl’s conformal quantum mechanics

The traditional standard theory of quantum mechanics is unable to solve the spin-statistics problem, i.e. to justify the utterly important “Pauli Exclusion Principle” but by the adoption of the complex standard relativistic quantum field theory. In a recent paper [E. Santamato and F. D. De Martini, Found. Phys. 45 (2015) 858] we presented a complete proof of the spin-statistics problem in the nonrelativistic approximation on the basis of the “Conformal Quantum Geometrodynamics” (CQG). In this paper, by the same theory, the proof of the spin-statistics theorem (SST) is extended to the relativistic domain in the scenario of curved spacetime. No relativistic quantum field operators are used in the present proof and the particle exchange properties are drawn from rotational invariance rather than from Lorentz invariance. Our relativistic approach allows to formulate a manifestly step-by-step Weyl gauge invariant theory and to emphasize some fundamental aspects of group theory in the demonstration. As in the nonrelativistic case, we find once more that the “intrinsic helicity” of the elementary particles enters naturally into play. It is therefore this property, not considered in the standard quantum mechanics (SQM), which determines the correct spin-statistics connection observed in Nature.

Weyl gravity and Cartan geometry

We point out that the Cartan geometry known as the second-order conformal structure provides a natural differential geometric framework underlying gauge theories of conformal gravity. We are concerned by two theories: the first one will be the associated Yang-Mills-like Lagrangian, while the second, inspired by~\cite{Wheeler2014}, will be a slightly more general one which will relax the conformal Cartan geometry. The corresponding gauge symmetry is treated within the BRST language. We show that the Weyl gauge potential is a spurious degree of freedom, analogous to a Stueckelberg field, that can be eliminated through the dressing field method. We derive sets of field equations for both the studied Lagrangians. For the second one, they constrain the gauge field to be the `normal conformal Cartan connection'. Finally, we provide in a Lagrangian framework a justification of the identification, in dimension $4$, of the Bach tensor with the Yang-Mills current of the normal conformal Cartan connection, as proved in \cite{Korz-Lewand-2003}.

Transverse diffeomorphism and Weyl invariant massive spin 2: Linear theory

We use Kaluza-Klein reduction to construct flat-space massive spin-2 Lagrangians based on a kinetic term that has local Weyl and transverse-diffeomorphism gauge symmetries in the massless limit. This yields Lagrangians describing a free massive spin 2 which differ from the usual Fierz-Pauli theory, but are physically equivalent to it. These Lagrangians require the use of auxiliary fields, which appear naturally from the higher-dimensional construction. We discuss how these Lagrangians are related to each other and to the Fierz-Pauli theory through St\"uckelberg transformations, gauge fixings, and field replacements, and we use this to generalize the construction to spin-2 fields on Einstein manifolds.

A local description of dark energy in terms of classical two-component massive spin-one uncharged fields on spacetimes with torsionful affinities

Abstract It is assumed that the two-component spinor formalisms for curved spacetimes that are endowed with torsionful affine connexions can supply a local description of dark energy in terms of classical massive spin-one uncharged fields. The relevant wave functions are related to torsional affine potentials which bear invariance under the action of the generalized Weyl gauge group. Such potentials are thus taken to carry an observable character and emerge from contracted spin affinities whose patterns are chosen in a suitable way. New covariant calculational techniques are then developed towards deriving explicitly the wave equations that supposedly control the propagation in spacetime of the dark energy background. What immediately comes out of this derivation is a presumably natural display of interactions between the fields and both spin torsion and curvatures. The physical properties that may arise directly fromthe solutions to thewave equations are not brought out.

Higgs and gravitational scalar fields together induce Weyl gauge

A common biquadratic potential for the Higgs field $h$ and an additional scalar field $\phi$, non minimally coupled to gravity, is considered in locally scale symmetric approaches to standard model fields in curved spacetime. A common ground state of the two scalar fields exists and couples both fields to gravity, more precisely to scalar curvature $R$. In Einstein gauge ($\phi = const$, often called "Einstein frame"), also $R$ is scaled to a constant. This condition makes perfect sense, even in the general case, in the Weyl geometric approach. There it has been called {\em Weyl gauge}, because it was first considered by Weyl in the different context of his original scale geometric theory of gravity of 1918. Now it seems to get new meaning as a combined effect of electroweak theory and gravity, and their common influence on atomic frequencies.

3D field theories with Chern-Simons term for large N in the Weyl gauge

Three dimensional, $U(N)$ symmetric, field theory with fermion matter coupled to a topological Chern--Simons term, in the large $N$ limit is analyzed in details. We determine the conditions for the existence of a massless conformal invariant ground state as well as the conditions for a massive phase. We analyze the phase structure and calculate gauge invariant corelators comparing them in several cases to existing results. In addition to the non-critical explicitly broken scale invariance massive case we consider also a massive ground state where the scale symmetry is spontaneously broken. We show that such a phase appears only in the presence of a marginal deformation that is introduced by adding a certain scalar auxiliary field and discuss the fermion-boson dual mapping. The ground state contains in this case a massless $U(N)$ singlet bound state goldstone boson- the dilaton whose properties are determined. We employ here the temporal gauge which is at variance with respect to past calculations using the light-cone gauge and thus, a check (though limited) of gauge independence is at hand. The large $N$ properties are determined by using a field integral formalism and the steepest descent method. The saddle point equations, which take here the form of integral equations for non-local fields, determine the mass gap and the dressed fermion propagator. Vertex functions are calculated at leading order in $1/N$ as exact solutions of integral equations. From the vertex functions, we infer gauge invariant two-point correlation functions for scalar operators and a current. Indications about the consistency of the method are obtained by verifying that gauge-invariant quantities have a natural $O(3)$ covariant form. As a further verification, in several occasions, a few terms of the perturbative expansion are calculated and compared with the exact results in the appropriate order.

Extended Gauss–Bonnet gravities in Weyl geometry

In this paper we consider an extended Gauss–Bonnet gravity theory in arbitrary dimensions and in a space provided with a Weyl connection, which is torsion-free but non-metric-compatible, the non-metricity tensor being determined by a vector field. The action considered consists of the usual Einstein–Hilbert action plus all the terms quadratic in the curvature that reduce to the usual Gauss–Bonnet term for vanishing Weyl connection, i.e., when only the Levi-Civita part of the connection is present. We expand the action in terms of Riemannian quantities and obtain vector–tensor theories. We find that all the free parameters only appear in the kinetic term of the vector field, so two branches are possible: one with a propagating vector field and another one where the vector field does not propagate. We focus on the propagating case. We find that in four dimensions, the theory is equivalent to Einstein's gravity plus a Proca field. This field is naturally decoupled from matter, so it represents a natural dark matter candidate. Also for d = 4, we discuss a non-trivial cubic term in the curvature that can be constructed without spoiling the second-order nature of the field equations, because it leads to the vector–tensor Horndeski interaction. In arbitrary dimensions, the theory becomes more involved. We show that, even though the vector field presents kinetic interactions which do not have symmetry, there are no additional propagating degrees of freedom with respect to the usual massive case. We show that, interestingly, this relies on the fact that the corresponding Stückelberg field belongs to a specific class within the general Horndeski theories. Finally, since Weyl geometries provide the natural ground on which to build scale invariant theories, we apply the usual Weyl gauging in order to make the Horndeski action locally scale invariant, and discuss new terms that can be added.

The dilaton Wess–Zumino action in six dimensions from Weyl gauging: local anomalies and trace relations

We extend a previous analysis on the derivation of the dilaton Wess–Zumino (WZ) action in d = 4, based on the method of Weyl gauging, to six dimensions. As in the previous case, we discuss the structure of the same action in dimensional regularization using six-dimensional Weyl invariants, extracting the dilaton interactions in the most general scheme, with the inclusion of the local anomaly terms. As an application, we present the WZ action for the (2,0) tensor multiplet, which has been investigated in the past in the context of the AdS7/CFT6 holographic anomaly matching. We then extend to d = 6 the investigation of fully traced correlation functions of energy–momentum tensor’s, formerly presented in d = 4, showing that their hierarchy is functionally related only to the first six correlators. We give the explicit expressions of these in the most general scheme, up to rank-4.

A Birkhoff theorem for shape dynamics

Shape dynamics is a theory of gravity that replaces refoliation invariance for spatial Weyl invariance. Those solutions of the Einstein equations that have global, constant mean curvature slicings, are mirrored by solutions in shape dynamics. However, there are solutions of shape dynamics that have no counterpart in general relativity (GR), just as there are solutions of GR that are not completely foliable by global constant mean curvature slicings (such as the Schwarzschild spacetime). It is therefore interesting to analyze directly the equations of motion of shape dynamics in order to find its own solutions, irrespective of properties of known solutions of GR. Here we perform a first study in this direction by utilizing the equations of motion of shape dynamics in a spherically symmetric, asymptotically flat ansatz to derive an analogue of the Birkhoff theorem. There are two significant differences with respect to the usual Birkhoff theorem in GR. The first regards the construction of the solution: we heavily use the shape synamics spatial Weyl gauge freedom to simplify the problem, and require boundary conditions. In fact the derivation is simpler than the usual Birkhoff theorem as no Christoffel symbols are needed. The second, and most important difference is that the solution obtained is uniquely the isotropic wormhole solution, in which no singularity is present, as opposed to maximally extended Schwarzschild. This provides an explicit example of the breaking of the duality between GR and shape dynamics, and exhibits some of its consequences.

Markovian versus non-Markovian stochastic quantization of a complex-action model

We analyze the Markovian and non-Markovian stochastic quantization methods for a complex action quantum mechanical model analog to Maxwell–Chern–Simons electrodynamics in Weyl gauge. We show through analytical methods convergence to the correct equilibrium state for both methods. Introduction of a memory kernel generates a non-Markovian process which has the effect of slowing down oscillations that arise in the Langevin-time evolution towards equilibrium of complex-action problems. This feature of non-Markovian stochastic quantization might be beneficial in large-scale numerical simulations of complex action field theories on a lattice.

A Perdurable Defence to Weyl’s Unified Theory

Einstein dealt a lethal blow to Weyl’s unified theory by arguing that Weyl’s theory was at the very best—beautiful, and at the very least, un-physical, because its concept of variation of the length of a vector from one point of space to the other meant that certain absolute quantities, such as the “fixed” spacing of atomic spectral lines and the Compton wavelength of an Electron for example, would change arbitrarily as they would have to depend on their prehistories. This venomous criticism of Einstein to Weyl’s theory remains much alive today as it was on the first day Einstein pronounced it. We demonstrate herein that one can overcome Einstein’s criticism by recasting Weyl’s theory into a new Weyl-kind of theory were the length of vectors are preserved as is the case in Riemann geometry. In this New Weyl Theory, the Weyl gauge transformation of the Riemann metric gμν and the Maxwellian electromagnetic field Aμ are preserved.

A modified variational principle for gravity in the modified Weyl geometry

The usual interpretation of the Weyl geometry is modified in two senses. First, both the additive Weyl connection and its variation are treated as (1, 2) tensors under the action of the Weyl covariant derivative. Second, a modified covariant derivative operator is introduced which still preserves the tensor structure of the theory. With its help, the Riemann tensor in the Weyl geometry can be written in a more compact form. We justify this modification in detail from several aspects and obtain some insights along the way. By introducing some new transformation rules for the variation of tensors under the action of the Weyl covariant derivative, we find a Weyl version of the Palatini identity for the Riemann tensor. To derive the energy–momentum tensor and equations of motion for gravity in the Weyl geometry, one naturally applies this identity at first, and then converts the variation of the additive Weyl connection to those of the metric tensor and Weyl gauge field. We also discuss possible connections to the current literature on the Weyl-invariant extension of massive gravity and the variational principles in f(R) gravity.

Scalar torsion and a new symmetry of general relativity

We reformulate the general theory of relativity in the language of Riemann-Cartan geometry. We start from the assumption that the space-time can be described as a non-Riemannian manifold, which, in addition to the metric field, is endowed with torsion. In this new framework, the gravitational field is represented not only by the metric, but also by the torsion, which is completely determined by a geometric scalar field. We show that in this formulation general relativity has a new kind of invariance, whose invariance group consists of a set of conformal and gauge transformations, called Cartan transformations. These involve both the metric tensor and the torsion vector field, and are similar to the well known Weyl gauge transformations. By making use of the concept of Cartan gauges, we show that, under Cartan transformations, the new formalism leads to different pictures of the same gravitational phenomena. We show that in an arbitrary Cartan gauge general relativity has the form of a scalar-tensor theory. In this approach, the Riemann-Cartan geometry appears as the natural geometrical setting of the general relativity theory when the latter is viewed in an arbitrary Cartan gauge. We illustrate this fact by looking at the one of the classical tests of general relativity theory, namely the gravitational spectral shift. Finally, we extend the concept of space-time symmetry to the more general case of Riemann-Cartan space-times endowed with scalar torsion. As an example, we obtain the conservation laws for auto-parallel motion in a static spherically symmetric vacuum space-time in a Cartan gauge, whose orbits are identical to Schwarzschild orbits in general relativity.

The gravity/CFT correspondence

General Relativity can be formulated in terms of a spatially Weyl invariant gauge theory called Shape Dynamics. Using this formulation, we establish a "bulk/bulk" duality between gravity and a Weyl invariant theory on spacelike Cauchy hypersurfaces. This duality has two immediate consequences: i) it leads trivially to a corresponding "bulk/boundary" duality between General Relativity and a boundary CFT, and ii) the boundary can be defined in a gauge-invariant way. Moreover, the corresponding bulk/boundary duality is sufficient to explain a large portion of the evidence in favor of gauge/gravity duality and provides independent evidence for the AdS/CFT correspondence.

Weyl gauging of topologically massive gravity

We construct a Weyl-invariant extension of topologically massive gravity which, remarkably, turns out to include topologically massive electrodynamics, with a Proca mass term, conformally coupled to a scalar field. The action has no dimensionful parameters, therefore, the masses are generated via symmetry breaking either radiatively in flat backgrounds or spontaneously in constant curvature backgrounds. The broken phase of the theory, generically, has a single massive spin-2 and a massive spin-1 excitation. Chiral gravity in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes does not arise as a low energy theory, while chiral gravity in de Sitter spacetime is not ruled out.

Plasmons in layered structures including graphene

We investigate the optical properties of layered structures with graphene at the interface for arbitrary linear polarization at finite temperature including full retardation by working in the Weyl gauge. As a special case, we obtain the full response and the related dielectric function of a layered structure with two interfaces. We apply our results to discuss the longitudinal plasmon spectrum of several single- and double-layer devices such as systems with finite and zero electronic densities. We further show that a nonhomogeneous dielectric background can shift the relative weight of the in-phase and out-of-phase modes, and discuss how the plasmonic mode of the upper layer can be tuned into an acoustic mode with a specific sound velocity.