Ultralocal limit of the gravitational field coupled to a scalar field

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6957373

Tsacoyeanes, J G

The ultralocal limit of the gravitational field and the gravitational field coupled to a scalar field are studied from both the classical and quantum standpoints. The constraint formalism is used for both cases. In the classical case, this is used to define the physically allowable solutions of the equations of motion. For the quantum case, the constraint condition is implemented as an operator constraint to define the physical subspace of allowable states. For the classical cases, use will be made of the minisuperspace formalism. In the quantum case, techniques for quantizing ultralocal self-interacting scalar fields developed by Klauder are extended to deal with the gravitational field. It will be shown that for the classical case, the singularity behavior of the gravitational field by itself is characterized by Kasner solutions at each spatial point. The quantum case requires the addition of a repulsive scattering potential in order to have well defined self-adjoint field operators. For the gravitational field coupled to a massive scalar field, the singularity behavior and when the mass terms become important in the ultralocal limit are studied both classically and from the quantum standpoint.

• Research Organization: Connecticut Univ., Storrs (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6957373
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

657003* -- Theoretical & Mathematical Physics-- Relativity & Gravitation
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CLASSICAL MECHANICS
COUPLING
FIELD THEORIES
GRAVITATIONAL FIELDS
MECHANICS
POTENTIALS
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
SCALAR FIELDS
SCATTERING
SINGULARITY