Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/iii/paper-311/3/a/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 311 3 a i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
There are no or terms in the displayed Einstein-Hilbert action, so the lapse function and shift vector have zero canonical momenta. Their equations impose constraint equations in field theory rather than independent propagation; they are Lagrange multipliers in the Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity.
With the question's positive sign for , vary at fixed . Since ,Thus the canonical momentum of the spatial metric is a weight-one tensor density. Write ; in three spatial dimensions , soThe action has suppressed its overall , and this normalization is retained here. Reversing the sign convention for extrinsic curvature would reverse the momentum relation; the calculation uses exactly the convention supplied in this question.
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