English

The (pseudo)issue of the conformal frame revisited

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2008-11-26 v1 Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Theory

Abstract

The issue of the equivalence between Jordan and Einstein conformal frames in scalar-tensor gravity is revisited, with emphasis on implementing running units in the latter. The lack of affine parametrization for timelike worldlines and the cosmological constant problem in the Einstein frame are clarified, and a paradox in the literature about cosmological singularities appearing only in one frame is solved. While, classically, the two conformal frames are physically equivalent, they seem to be inequivalent at the quantum level.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.gr-qc/0612075,
  title  = {The (pseudo)issue of the conformal frame revisited},
  author = {Valerio Faraoni and Shahn Nadeau},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:gr-qc/0612075},
  year   = {2008}
}

Comments

29 pages, latex, to appear in Phys. Rev. D