Author

Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Han, Muxin

Abstract

Though general relativity (GR) is proven to be a successful theory in describing the macroscopical nature of our universe, it still has several problems to be resolved. One of them is known as the time problem of GR. GR is a pure constraint theory, and the time evolution of the system is a gauge transformation, without carrying any physical information. One potential resolution to this issue is the relational formalism, which considers the dynamics of a material frame by coupling it to gravity. This approach allows for constructing gauge invariant observables and subsequent quantization. One realization of the relational formalism is the Brown-Kuchaˇr formalism. In this formalism, the gravity couples Brown-Kuchaˇr dust fields, and the Brown-Kuchaˇr dust fields play the roles as a family of observers. Then, one can introduce a gauge fixing scheme to the system and construct gauge invariant observables (Dirac observables) in the reduced phase Space. The probe time of the dust plays the role as the physical time of each point of the spacetime. In this thesis, we consider the Brown-Kuchaˇr formalism in an asymptotically flat background. A set of boundary conditions for the asymptotic flatness are formulated for Dirac observables on the reduced phase space. We compute the boundary term of the physical Hamiltonian, which is identical to the ADM mass. We construct a set of the symmetry charges on the reduced phase space, which encompass both the bulk terms and the boundary terms are conserved by the physical Hamiltonian evolution. The symmetry charges generate transformations preserving the asymptotically flat boundary conditions. Under the reduced-phase space Poisson bracket, the symmetry charges form an infinite dimensional Lie algebra AG after adding a central charge. A suitable quotient of AG is analogous to the BMS algebra at spatial infinity by Henneaux and Troessaert.

Extent

112 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2024.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00014398

Format

pdf

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