Projective Loop Quantum Gravity II. Searching for Semi-Classical States

TL;DR

This paper investigates the challenges in constructing semi-classical states in Loop Quantum Gravity using a projective formalism, revealing fundamental obstructions due to the algebraic structure of holonomy-flux operators.

Contribution

It demonstrates that no state with finite variances exists for the full holonomy-flux algebra in real-valued cases, highlighting a core obstacle in semi-classical state construction.

Findings

No state with finite variances for all observables exists in the full algebra.

The algebra's structure, with uncountably many non-vanishing commutators, causes uncontrollable quantum uncertainties.

Restricting the algebra may provide a way to construct semi-classical states.

Abstract

In [arXiv:1411.3592] an extension of the Ashtekar-Lewandowski (AL) state space of Loop Quantum Gravity was set up with the help a projective formalism introduced by Kijowski [Kijowski 1977; see also: arXiv:1304.6330, arXiv:1411.3590]. The motivation for this work was to achieve a more balanced treatment of the position and momentum variables (aka. holonomies and fluxes). Indeed, states in the AL Hilbert spaces describe discrete quantum excitations on top of a vacuum which is an eigenstate of the flux variables (a `no-geometry' state): in such states, most holonomies are totally spread, making it difficult to approximate a smooth, classical 4-geometry. However, going beyond the AL sector does not fully resolve this difficulty: one uncovers a deeper issue hindering the construction of states semi-classical with respect to a full set of observables. In the present article, we analyze this issue in the case of real-valued holonomies (we will briefly comment on the heuristic implications for other gauge groups, eg. $\mathcal{SU}(2)$). Specifically, we show that, in this case, there does not exist any state on the holonomy-flux algebra in which the variances of the holonomies and fluxes observables would all be finite, let alone small. It is important to note that this obstruction cannot be bypassed by further enlarging the quantum state space, for it arises from the structure of the algebra itself: as there are too many (uncountably many) non-vanishing commutators between the holonomy and flux operators, the corresponding Heisenberg inequalities force the quantum uncertainties to blow up uncontrollably. A way out would be to suitably restrict the algebra of observables. In a companion paper we take the first steps in this direction by developing a general framework to perform such a restriction without giving up the universality and diffeomorphism invariance of the theory.