The quantum cosmological constant
File(s)
Published version
OA Location
Author(s)
Alexander, Stephon
Magueijo, Joao
Smolin, Lee
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We present an extension of general relativity in which the cosmological constant becomes dynamical and turns out to be conjugate to the Chern–Simons invariant of the Ashtekar connection on a spatial slicing. The latter has been proposed Soo and Smolin as a time variable for quantum gravity: the Chern–Simons time. In the quantum theory, the inverse cosmological constant and Chern–Simons time will then become conjugate operators. The “Kodama state” gets a new interpretation as a family of transition functions. These results imply an uncertainty relation between Λ and Chern–Simons time; the consequences of which will be discussed elsewhere.
Date Issued
2019-09-05
Date Acceptance
2019-08-16
Citation
Symmetry, 2019, 11 (9)
ISSN
2073-8994
Publisher
MDPI AG
Journal / Book Title
Symmetry
Volume
11
Issue
9
Copyright Statement
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
1130
Date Publish Online
2019-09-05