Complex Structures for Klein-Gordon theory on globally hyperbolic spacetimes

We develop a rigorous method to parametrize complex structures for Klein-Gordon theory in globally hyperbolic spacetimes that satisfy a completeness condition. The complex structures are conserved under time-evolution and implement unitary quantizations. They can be interpreted as corresponding to global choices of vacuum. The main ingredient in our construction is a system of operator differential equations. We provide a number of theorems ensuring that all ingredients and steps in the construction are well-defined. We apply the method to exhibit natural quantizations for certain classes of globally hyperbolic spacetimes. In particular, we consider static, expanding and Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetimes. Moreover, for a huge class of spacetimes we prove that the differential equation for the complex structure is given by the Gelfand-Dikki equation.

Partial Differential Equations and Quantum States in Curved Spacetimes

In this review paper, we discuss the relation between recent advances in the theory of partial differential equations and their applications to quantum field theory on curved spacetimes. In particular, we focus on hyperbolic propagators and the role they play in the construction of physically admissible quantum states—the so-called Hadamard states—on globally hyperbolic spacetimes. We will review the notion of a propagator and discuss how it can be constructed in an explicit and invariant fashion, first on a Riemannian manifold and then on a Lorentzian spacetime. Finally, we will recall the notion of Hadamard state and relate the latter to hyperbolic propagators via the wavefront set, a subset of the cotangent bundle capturing the information about the singularities of a distribution.

Self-Adjointness in Klein-Gordon Theory on Globally Hyperbolic Spacetimes

We prove essential self-adjointness of the spatial part of the linear Klein-Gordon operator with external potential for a large class of globally hyperbolic manifolds. The proof is conducted by a fusion of new results concerning globally hyperbolic manifolds, the theory of weighted Hilbert spaces and related functional analytic advances.

Properties of the Null Distance and Spacetime Convergence

The null distance for Lorentzian manifolds was recently introduced by Sormani and Vega. Under mild assumptions on the time function of the spacetime, the null distance gives rise to an intrinsic, conformally invariant metric that induces the manifold topology. We show when warped products of low regularity and globally hyperbolic spacetimes endowed with the null distance are (local) integral current spaces. This metric and integral current structure sets the stage for investigating convergence analogous to Riemannian geometry. Our main theorem is a general convergence result for warped product spacetimes relating uniform, Gromov–Hausdorff, and Sormani–Wenger intrinsic flat convergence of the corresponding null distances. In addition, we show that nonuniform convergence of warping functions in general leads to distinct limiting behavior, such as limits that disagree.