# Tagged Questions

1answer
95 views

### proper variation of action term

I have a term I want to vary by a field, $\phi$. $$`S' = \frac{-1}{2}\,\sqrt{-g}\,g^{\mu\,\nu}\,\delta\left[h(\phi)\,\partial_{\mu}\phi\,\partial_{\nu}\phi \right].$$ Is it correct to get this? ...
1answer
100 views

### Why is $R^2$ gravity not unitary?

I have often heard that $R^2$ gravity (as studied by Stelle) is renormalisable but not unitary. My question is: what is it that causes the theory to suffer from problems with unitarity? My naive ...
2answers
262 views

### Dirac equation in curved space-time

I have seen the Dirac equation in curved space-time written as $$[i\bar{\gamma}^{\mu}\frac{\partial}{\partial x^{\mu}}-i\bar{\gamma}^{\mu}\Gamma_{\mu}-m]\psi=0$$ This ...
1answer
175 views

### Is the quantization of gravity necessary for a quantum theory of gravity? Part II

(At the suggestion of the user markovchain, I have decided to take a very large edit/addition to the original question, and ask it as a separate question altogether.) Here it is: I have since ...
1answer
142 views

### Hawking Radiation: how does a particle ever cross the event horizon?

The heuristic argument for Hawking Radiation is, that a virtual pair-production happens just at the event horizon. One particle goes into the black hole, while the other can be observed as radiation. ...
0answers
139 views

### Does local physics depend on global topology?

Motivating Example In standard treatments of AdS/CFT (MAGOO for example), one defines $\mathrm{AdS}_{p+2}$ as a particular embedded submanifold of $\mathbb R^{2,p+1}$ which gives it topology ...
1answer
128 views

### Are group representations possible when the solution space is not a vector space?

As far as I understand, the motivation for using representation theory in high energy physics is as follows. Assume that a theory has some (internal or external) symmetry group which acts on a vector ...
0answers
78 views

### Massless Dirac equation is Weyl covariant

Does somebody know how to show that the following equation is Weyl invariant? $$\gamma^ae_a^\mu D_\mu \Psi=0$$ where: $D_\mu \Psi=\partial_\mu\Psi+A_\mu^{ab}\Sigma_{ab}\Psi$ is the spin-covariant ...
1answer
199 views

### Dirac Equation in General Relativity

Dirac equation for the massless fermions in curved spase time is $γ^ae^μ_aD_μΨ=0$, where $e^μ_a$ are the tetrads. I have to show that Dirac spinors obey the following equation: ...
0answers
72 views

### Showing that the Ricci scalar equals a product of commutators

I have to compute the square of the Dirac operator, $D=\gamma^a e^\mu_a D_\mu$ , in curved space time ($D_\mu\Psi=\partial_\mu \Psi + A_\mu ^{ab}\Sigma_{ab}$ is the covariant derivative of the spinor ...
3answers
220 views

### Question on inflation

I have two particular questions regarding the inflationary scenario. They are: 1.) What is the physical origin of the inflaton field? 2.) Why has the potential of the inflation field its particular ...
0answers
183 views

### Curiosity episode with Stephen Hawking. The Big-Bang

In an episode of Discovery's Curiosity with host Stephen Hawking, he claims the Big Bang event can be explained from physics alone, and does not require the intervention of a creator. 1) His ...
2answers
252 views

### Wavefunction collapse and gravity

If gravity can be thought of as both a wave (the gravitational wave, as predicted to exist by Albert Einstein and certain calculations) and a particle (the graviton), would it make sense to apply ...
0answers
101 views

### Extending General Relativity with Kahler Manifolds?

Standard general relativity is based on Riemannian manifolds. However, the simplest extension of Riemannian manifolds seems to be Kahler manifolds, which have a complex (hermitian) structure, a ...
0answers
56 views

### gravitational convergence of light

light has a non-zero energy-stress tensor, so a flux of radiation will slightly affect curvature of spacetime Question: assume a flux of radiation in the $z$ direction, in flat Minkowski space it ...
2answers
217 views

### Hawking radiation and black hole entropy

Is black hole entropy, computed by means of quantum field theory on curved spacetime, the entropy of matter degrees of freedom i.e. non-gravitational dofs? What is one actually counting?
0answers
67 views

### Is eternal inflation Lorentz invariant?

Start without general relativity. Consider a metastable vacuum over good ol'-fashioned Minkowski space. It decays. A bubble forms and the domain wall expands. The domain wall is timelike, and ...
3answers
246 views

### Laws of gravity for a universe that only consists of two objects?

So, we know that when two objects of normal matter get away from each other, the gravitational pull they feel from each other, decreases. I wanted to see how that would work. And in my ...
3answers
181 views

### Theory that gets rid of dark matter/energy

Is there any physics theory that either groups together gravity and dark energy/dark matter or eliminates dark energy/dark matter by modifying standard understanding of gravity or any force? If so, ...
3answers
310 views

### Are gravitomagnetic monopoles hypothesized?

My understanding is that gravitomagnetism is essentially the same relativistic effect as magnetism. If so, why is it that I've heard so much about magnetic monopoles, but never gravitomagnetic ...
1answer
286 views

### General Relativity - Einstein field equation and quantum field theory

Einstein field equation has many solutions. Out of them, is there any solution that is incompatible with quantum field theory? Also, what solutions of Einstein field equation would be incompatible ...
1answer
280 views

### Interpretation of the Einstein-Hilbert action

Everyone knows the famous Einstein-Hilbert action $S_{EH} = \int d^4x \sqrt{-g} R$. I'd like to know if, after we first explicit the Ricci scalar in terms of the metric, it could be possible to ...
1answer
108 views

### Hawking radiation: direct matter -> energy conversion?

When a black hole evaporates, does it turn all the matter that has fallen in directly to energy, or will it somehow throw back out the same kind of matter (normal or anti) that went in?
6answers
155 views

### General Relativity research and QFT in curved spacetime

A naive question: Are these subjects, i.e. classical GR and QFT in curved spacetime, being worked upon much anymore? Who is researching this and what are the problems within these fields? Any ...
3answers
3k views

### Why you need a graviton when you have the higgs boson?

Since I studied General Relativity I had this question running on my mind. As I see it (just taking lectures of Quantum Field Theory right now) "Why you need a gauge boson for gravity when the higgs ...
1answer
235 views

### Why is Dirac Lagrangian in Curved Spacetime Weyl Invariant?

Are there any references on the Weyl invariance of the Dirac Lagragian in general spacetime? Thanks a lot!
0answers
254 views

### Gravitation and the QFT vacuum

I'm asking this to get yet another lessson in the inability of QFT and GR to cohabit. Many people believe GR must yield to quantization. The question here is as to why the activity of the vacuum ...
3answers
359 views

### Why is there a flux of radiation in the Hawking effect but not in the Unruh effect? (and other questions)

This question is slightly related to this one Do all massive bodies emit Hawking radiation?, which I think was poorly posed and so didn't get very useful answers. There are several questions in this ...
3answers
605 views

### Does the Unruh effect violate Mach's principle?

Mach's principle says that it is impossible to tell if something is accelerating unless there is something else in the universe to compare that motion to, which seems reasonable. However, if you had ...
1answer
334 views

### Why is GR ghost-free?

I wonder how one can show that general relativity is ghost-free? By ghost I mean the negative norm state that breaks the unitarity. I think it is a well-known "fact" but I just couldn't find any ...
3answers
701 views

### No hair theorem for black holes and the baryon number

The no hair theorem says that a black hole can be characterized by a small number of parameters that are visible from distance - mass, angular momentum and electric charge. For me it is puzzling why ...
0answers
256 views

### Quantization of Gravitational Field: Quantization conditions

I'm begining to study Quantization of field with the second quantization formalism. I've studied phononic field, electromagnetic field in the vacuum and a generic relativistical scalar field. I ...
2answers
628 views

### Do traversable wormholes exist as solutions to string theory?

There has been some heated debate as to whether the laws of physics allow for traversable wormholes. Some physicists claim we require exotic matter to construct wormholes, but then others counter the ...
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