It is shown that when the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian is considered without any non-covariant modifications or change of variables, its Hamiltonian formulation leads to results consistent with principles of General Relativity. The first-class constraints of such a Hamiltonian formulation, with the metric tensor taken as a canonical variable, allow one to derive the generator of gauge transformations, which directly leads to diffeomorphism invariance. The given Hamiltonian formulation preserves general covariance of the transformations derivable from it. This characteristic should be used as the crucial consistency requirement that must be met by any Hamiltonian formulation of General Relativity.(Published in Phys. Lett. A 372 (2008) 5101) *

Abstract:A conventional wisdom often perpetuated in the literature states that: (i) a 3 + 1 decomposition of spacetime into space and time is synonymous with the canonical treatment and this decomposition is essential for any Hamiltonian formulation of General Relativity (GR); (ii) the canonical treatment unavoidably breaks the symmetry between space and time in GR and the resulting algebra of constraints is not the algebra of four-dimensional diffeomorphism; (iii) according to some authors this algebra allows one to derive only spatial diffeomorphism or, according to others, a specific field-dependent and non-covariant four-dimensional diffeomorphism; (iv) the analyses of Dirac [21] and of ADM [22] of the canonical structure of GR are equivalent. We provide some general reasons why these statements should be questioned. Points (i-iii) have been shown to be incorrect in [45] and now we thoroughly re-examine all steps of the Dirac Hamiltonian formulation of GR. By direct calculation we show that Dirac's references to space-like surfaces are inessential and that such surfaces do not enter his calculations. In addition, we show that his assumption 0 = 0, used to simplify his calculation of different contributions to the secondary constraints, is unwarranted; yet, remarkably his total Hamiltonian is equivalent to the one computed without the assumption 0 = 0. The secondary constraints resulting from the conservation of the primary constraints of Dirac are in fact different from the original constraints that Dirac called secondary (also known as the "Hamiltonian" and "diffeomorphism" constraints). The Dirac constraints are instead particular combinations of the constraints which follow directly from the primary constraints. Taking this difference into account we found, using two standard methods, that the generator of the gauge transformation gives diffeomorphism invariance in fourdimensional space-time; and this shows that points (i-iii) above cannot be attributed to the Dirac Hamiltonian formulation of GR. We also demonstrate that ADM and Dirac formulations are related by a transformation of phase-space variables from the metric µν to lapse and shift functions and the three-metric , which is not canonical. This proves that point (iv) is incorrect. Points (i-iii) are mere consequences of using a non-canonical change of variables and are not an intrinsic property of either the Hamilton-Dirac approach to constrained systems or Einstein's theory itself. PACS

The Hamiltonian formulation of the tetrad gravity in any dimension higher than two, using its first order form when tetrads and spin connections are treated as independent variables, is discussed and the complete solution of the three dimensional case is given. For the first time, applying the methods of constrained dynamics, the Hamiltonian and constraints are explicitly derived and the algebra of the Poisson brackets among all constraints is calculated. The algebra of the Poisson brackets among first class secondary constraints locally coincides with Lie algebra of the ISO(2,1) Poincaré group. All the first class constraints of this formulation, according to the Dirac conjecture and using the Castellani procedure, allow us to unambiguously derive the generator of gauge transformations and find the gauge transformations of the tetrads and spin connections which turn out to be the same found by Witten without recourse to the Hamiltonian methods [Nucl. Phys. B 311 (1988) 46 ]. The gauge symmetry of the tetrad gravity generated by Lie algebra of constraints is compared with another invariance, diffeomorphism. Some conclusions about the Hamiltonian formulation in higher dimensions are briefly discussed; in particular, that diffeomorphism invariance is not derivable as a gauge symmetry from the Hamiltonian formulation of tetrad gravity in any dimension when tetrads and spin connections are used as independent variables.

It is shown that the Lagrangian reduction, in which solutions of equations of motion that do not involve time derivatives are used to eliminate variables, leads to results quite different from the standard Dirac treatment of the first order form of the Einstein-Hilbert action when the equations of motion correspond to the first class constraints. A form of the first order formulation of the Einstein-Hilbert action which is more suitable for the Dirac approach to constrained systems is presented. The Dirac and reduced approaches are compared and contrasted. This general discussion is illustrated by a simple model in which all constraints and the gauge transformations which correspond to first class constraints are completely worked out using both methods in order to demonstrate explicitly their differences. These results show an inconsistency in the previous treatment of the first order Einstein-Hilbert action which is likely responsible for problems with its canonical quantization.

The canonical structure of the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrange density L = √ −gR is examined in two spacetime dimensions, using the metric density h µν ≡ √ −gg µν and symmetric affine connection Γ λ σβ as dynamical variables. The Hamiltonian reduces to a linear combination of three first class constraints with a local SO(2, 1) algebra. The first class constraints are used to find a generator of gauge transformations that has a closed off-shell algebra and which leaves the Lagrangian and det(h µν ) invariant. These transformations are distinct from diffeomorphism invariance, and are gauge transformations characterized by a symmetric matrix ζ µν .