Related papers: Boundary terms of the Einstein-Hilbert action
A well-defined variational principle for gravitational actions typically requires to cancel boundary terms produced by the variation of the bulk action with a suitable set of boundary counterterms. This can be achieved by carefully…
The Hamiltonian for physical systems and dynamic geometry generates the evolution of a spatial region along a vector field. It includes a boundary term which not only determines the value of the Hamiltonian, but also, via the boundary term…
General relativity (GR) as described in terms of curvature by the Einstein-Hilbert action is dynamically equivalent to theories of gravity formulated in terms of spacetime torsion or non-metricity. This forms what is called the geometrical…
The Weiss variational principle in mechanics and classical field theory is a variational principle which allows displacements of the boundary. We review the Weiss variation in mechanics and classical field theory, and present a novel…
In this review we consider first order gravity in four dimensions. In particular, we focus our attention in formulations where the fundamental variables are a tetrad $e_a^I$ and a SO(3,1) connection ${\omega_{aI}}^J$. We study the most…
Certain peculiar features of Einstein-Hilbert (EH) action provide clues towards a holographic approach to gravity which is independent of the detailed microstructure of spacetime. These features of the EH action include: (a) the existence…
The Weiss variation of the Einstein-Hilbert action with an appropriate boundary term has been studied for general boundary surfaces; the boundary surfaces can be spacelike, timelike, or null. To achieve this we introduce an auxiliary…
We discuss the criteria that must be satisfied by a well-posed variational principle. We clarify the role of Gibbons-Hawking-York type boundary terms in the actions of higher derivative models of gravity, such as F(R) gravity, and argue…
The Einstein-Hilbert action (and thus the dynamics of gravity) can be obtained by combining the principle of equivalence, special relativity and quantum theory in the Rindler frame and postulating that the horizon area must be proportional…
Although with great successes in explaining phenomena and natural behaviour involving the Universe or a part thereof, the General Theory of Relativity is far from a complete theory. Focusing on its extension within the framework of scalar…
It is shown in this study that deviations from the Einstein-Hilbert action at the quadratic level using a proper analyses and suitable dynamical variables lead to a tiny modification to the post-Newtonian equations of motion, and…
Both the Einstein-Hilbert action and the Einstein equations are discussed under the absolute vierbein formalism. Taking advantage of this form, we prove that the "kinetic energy" term, i.e., the quadratic term of time derivative term, in…
It is shown that the well-known triviality of the Einstein field equations in two dimensions is not a sufficient condition for the Einstein-Hilbert action to be a total divergence, if the general covariance is to be preserved, that is, a…
Constructing a well-posed variational principle is a non-trivial issue in general relativity. For spacelike and timelike boundaries, one knows that the addition of the Gibbons-Hawking-York (GHY) counter-term will make the variational…
A generalization of General Relativity is studied. The standard Einstein-Hilbert action is considered in the Palatini formalism, where the connection and the metric are independent variables, and the connection is not symmetric. As a result…
The Hamiltonian for dynamic geometry generates the evolution of a spatial region along a vector field. It includes a boundary term which determines both the value of the Hamiltonian and the boundary conditions. The value gives the…
The Hamiltonian for dynamic geometry generates the evolution of a spatial region along a vector field. It includes a boundary term which determines both the value of the Hamiltonian and the boundary conditions. The value gives the…
Standard general relativity fails to take into account the changes in coordinates induced by the variation of metric in the Hilbert action principle. We propose to include such changes by introducing a fundamental compensating tensor field…
In the derivation of the Einstein field equations via Hamilton's principle, the inclusion of a boundary term is essential to render the variational problem well-posed, as it addresses variations that do not vanish at the boundary of the…
We show that for an eikonal limit of gravity in a space-time of any dimension with a non-vanishing cosmological constant, the Einstein -- Hilbert action reduces to a boundary action. This boundary action describes the interaction of…