One can restrict the ambiguities to some degree by modeling the expression on that of the full theory.
This means that one does not simply replace by an almost periodic function, but uses holonomies
tracing out closed loops formed by symmetry generators [42
, 46
]. Moreover, the procedure can be embedded
in a general scheme that encompasses different models and the full theory [194
, 42, 58], further reducing
ambiguities. In particular models with non-zero intrinsic curvature on their symmetry orbits,
such as the closed isotropic model, can then be included in the construction. One issue to keep
in mind is the fact that “holonomies” are treated differently in models and the full theory.
In the latter case, they are ordinary holonomies along edges, which can be shrunk and then
approximate connection components. In models, on the other hand, one sometimes uses direct
exponentials of connection components without integration. In such a case, connection components are
approximated only when they are small; if they are not, the corresponding objects such as the
Hamiltonian constraint receive infinitely many correction terms of higher powers in curvature
(similarly to effective actions). The difference between both ways of dealing with holonomies can be
understood in inhomogeneous models, where they are both realized for different connection
components.
In the flat case the construction is easiest, related to the Abelian nature of the symmetry group. One
can directly use the exponentials in (41
), viewed as 3-dimensional holonomies along integral curves,
and mimic the full constraint where one follows a loop to get curvature components of the connection
.
Respecting the symmetry, this can be done in the model with a square loop in two independent directions
and
. This yields the product
, which appears in a trace, as in (15
), together with a
commutator
using the remaining direction
. The latter, following the general scheme of
the full theory reviewed in Section 3.6, quantizes the contribution
to the constraint, instead of
directly using the simpler
.
Taking the trace one obtains a diagonal operator
in terms of the volume operator, as well as the multiplication operator
In the triad representation where instead of working with functions one works with the
coefficients
in an expansion
, this operator is the square of a difference
operator. The constraint equation thus takes the form of a difference equation [46
, 77, 15
]
One can symmetrize this operator and obtain a difference equation with different coefficients, which we do
here after multiplying the operator with for reasons that will be discussed in the context of
singularities in Section 5.15. The resulting difference equation is
Since , the difference equation is of higher order, even
formulated on an uncountable set, and thus has many independent solutions. Most of them,
however, oscillate on small scales, i.e., between
and
with small integer
. Others
oscillate only on larger scales and can be viewed as approximating continuum solutions. The
behavior of all the solutions leads to possibilities for selection criteria of different versions of the
constraint since there are quantization choices. Most importantly, one chooses the routing of
edges to construct the square holonomy, again the spin of a representation to take the trace
[116
, 201], and factor ordering choices between quantizations of
and
. All these
choices also appear in the full theory such that one can draw conclusions for preferred cases
there.
When the symmetry group is not Abelian and there is non-zero intrinsic curvature, the construction is
more complicated. For non-Abelian symmetry groups integral curves as before do not form a closed loop
and one needs a correction term related to intrinsic curvature components [46, 62
]. Moreover, the classical
regime is not as straightforward to specify since connection components are not necessarily small when
there is intrinsic curvature. A general scheme encompassing intrinsic curvature, other symmetric models and
the full theory will be discussed in Section 5.14.
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