Euclidean quantum gravity on manifolds with boundary (Q1379273)

In many physical theories the basic equation is a partial differential equation. Particular solutions and, thus, physical situations are then determined by choosing particular boundary conditions (or initial conditions). In this sense, the ``right choice'' of boundary conditions has a great impact upon the physical content and the physical interpretation of the theory. This is true for classical as well as for quantum field theory. The special role of boundary conditions in quantum field theory is at the focus of the book under review. Contrary to what the title suggests, the book is not exclusively (and not even predominantly) about Euclidean quantum gravity. Large parts refer to quantum field theory in general, and Euclidean quantum gravity is only one of three special theories which are treated in some detail. The book is divided into two parts. Part I, entitled ``General Formalism'', consists of six chapters, culminating in Chapter 6 where several aspects of boundary conditions in quantum field theory are discussed at a high technical level. The preceding five chapters are to be viewed as preparatory. More specifically, Part I is organized as follows. Chapter 1 gives a general introduction to illustrate the relevance of boundary conditions. First, some standard examples from electrostatics and from quantum electrodynamics are presented. Then, the authors turn to quantum gravity and discuss some general aspects of the Hartle-Hawking proposal and of Vilenkin's tunneling wave function. Chapter 2 is concerned with the Schwinger-deWitt asymptotic expansion of the Feynman propagator on a curved background. In Chapter 3 the effective action is discussed with a a special emphasis on a method introduced by Vilkovisky that makes the effective action gauge-invariant. Chapter 4 deals with covariant quantization of gauge theories on the space of histories. Among other things, in this chapter BRST symmetries are discussed and the general results are illustrated with a covariant analysis of the Casimir effect. Chapter 5 is purely mathematical, introducing and discussing the zeta function for an elliptic (pseudo-)differential operator. In Chapter 6, all this is collected to discuss boundary conditions in the semi-classical analysis of quantum field theory. Scalar fields, spinor fields, gauge fields, and the linearized gravitational field are treated as special cases. Particular emphasis is put on the distinction between local and non-local aspects. Part II is entitled ``Gauge fields and gravitation'' and consists of three chapters each of which is devoted to a special physical theory. Chapter 7 is about Euclidean Maxwell theory and deals with the quantization of the electromagnetic field on a region of flat Euclidean 4-space which is bounded by a 3-sphere or by two concentric 3-spheres. This is to be viewed as a preparatory study for tackling Euclidean quantum gravity. Chapter 8 studies the semi-classical approximation of simple supergravity on Riemannian 4-manifolds with boundary. Finally, Chapter 9, entitled ``Euclidean quantum gravity'', is about quantizing the linearized gravitational field on a region of flat Euclidean 4-space which is bounded by a 3-sphere or by two concentric 3-spheres. Special choices of mixed boundary conditions are discussed in some detail. This chapter ends with a list of open problems. In the preface, the authors indicate that the general reader may focus on Part I while research workers may focus on Part II. However, it is to be emphasized that the whole book presupposes a sound knowledge of quantum field theory and that the authors are not particularly concerned with didactic aspects. Also, the mathematically interested reader should be warned that many results are to be viewed as ``heuristic'' which is, of course, inevitable with a topic of this kind. In any case, the book will be a useful addition to the library of research workers in quantum field theory.