Quantized gravitational wave perturbations in Robertson-Walker universes

L. H. Ford and Leonard Parker
Phys. Rev. D 16, 1601 – Published 15 September 1977
PDFExport Citation

Abstract

We consider the theory of quantized gravitational wave perturbations in the three types of Robertson-Walker universes. In a gauge analogous to the Coulomb gauge in electrodynamics it is possible to identify and quantize the independent degrees of freedom of the graviton field. The resulting theory is equivalent to that for a pair of massless, minimally coupled scalar fields in the same background space-time. As an application of the formalism, we calculate the spectrum of gravitons produced by a power-law expansion of the universe and show that it has no divergences.

  • Received 21 April 1977

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.16.1601

©1977 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

L. H. Ford and Leonard Parker

  • Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201

Comments & Replies

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 16, Iss. 6 — 15 September 1977

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review D

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×