Hamiltonian formulation for the theory of gravity and canonical transformations in extended phase space

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that in extended phase space, the ADM transformation in gravity is canonical, resolving previous issues about the equivalence of different Hamiltonian formulations of General Relativity.

Contribution

It introduces an extended phase space approach that treats gauge degrees of freedom equally, proving the ADM transformation is canonical within this framework.

Findings

ADM transformation is canonical in extended phase space

Extended phase space approach resolves Hamiltonian formulation equivalence issues

Illustration with a cosmological model supports the theoretical results

Abstract

A starting point for the present work was the statement recently discussed in the literature that two Hamiltonian formulations for the theory of gravity, the one proposed by Dirac and the other by Arnowitt - Deser - Misner, may not be related by a canonical transformation. In its turn, it raises a question about the equivalence of these two Hamiltonian formulations and their equivalence to the original formulation of General Relativity. We argue that, since the transformation from components of metric tensor to the ADM variables touches gauge degrees of freedom, which are non-canonical from the point of view of Dirac, the problem cannot be resolved in the limits of the Dirac approach. The proposed solution requires the extension of phase space by treating gauge degrees of freedom on an equal footing with other variables and introducing missing velocities into the Lagrangian by means of gauge conditions in differential form. We illustrate with a simple cosmological model the features of Hamiltonian dynamics in extended phase space. Then, we give a clear proof for the full gravitational theory that the ADM-like transformation is canonical in extended phase space in a wide enough class of possible parametrizations.