Linearized General Relativity

A complete theory of weak-field gravity is described: the linearized approximation. This is a form of first-order perturbation theory. The concept of a gauge transformation, as applied to the curvature tensor and the field equation, is explained, and it is shown how to reduce the field equation to a wave equation in the Lorenz gauge (under the linear approximation). Thus a huge variety of gravitational calculations become accessible.

Gauge-Underdetermination and Shades of Locality in the Aharonov–Bohm Effect

I address the view that the classical electromagnetic potentials are shown by the Aharonov–Bohm effect to be physically real (which I dub: ‘the potentials view’). I give a historico-philosophical presentation of this view and assess its prospects, more precisely than has so far been done in the literature. Taking the potential as physically real runs prima facie into ‘gauge-underdetermination’: different gauge choices represent different physical states of affairs and hence different theories. This fact is usually not acknowledged in the literature (or in classrooms), neither by proponents nor by opponents of the potentials view. I then illustrate this theme by what I take to be the basic insight of the AB effect for the potentials view, namely that the gauge equivalence class that directly corresponds to the electric and magnetic fields (which I call the Wide Equivalence Class) is too wide, i.e., the Narrow Equivalence Class encodes additional physical degrees of freedom: these only play a distinct role in a multiply-connected space. There is a trade-off between explanatory power and gauge symmetries. On the one hand, this narrower equivalence class gives a local explanation of the AB effect in the sense that the phase is incrementally picked up along the path of the electron. On the other hand, locality is not satisfied in the sense of signal locality, viz. the finite speed of propagation exhibited by electric and magnetic fields. It is therefore intellectually mandatory to seek desiderata that will distinguish even within these narrower equivalence classes, i.e. will prefer some elements of such an equivalence class over others. I consider various formulations of locality, such as Bell locality, local interaction Hamiltonians, and signal locality. I show that Bell locality can only be evaluated if one fixes the gauge freedom completely. Yet, an explanation in terms of signal locality can be accommodated by the Lorenz gauge: the potentials propagate in waves at finite speed. I therefore suggest the Lorenz gauge potentials theory—an even narrower gauge equivalence relation—as the ontology of electrodynamics.

Relating the b ghost and the vertex operators of the pure spinor superstring

The OPE between the composite b ghost and the unintegrated vertex operator for massless states of the pure spinor superstring is computed and shown to reproduce the structure of the bosonic string result. The double pole vanishes in the Lorenz gauge and the single pole is shown to be equal to the corresponding integrated vertex operator.