Gen Relativ Gravit (2012) 44:267283

DOI 10.1007/s10714-011-1285-4
GOLDEN OLDIE
Republication of:
Quantum theory of weak gravitational elds
Matvei Bronstein
Published online: 10 November 2011
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011
An editorial note to this paper and a biography can be found in this issue preceding this Golden Oldie and
online via doi:10.1007/s10714-011-1284-5.
Original paper: Matvei Bronstein, Quantentheorie schwacher Gravitationsfelder, Physikalische Zeitschrift
der Sowjetunion, Band 9, Heft 23, pp. 140157 (1936). Translated from German by M.A. Kurkov, edited
by S. Deser.
Editorial responsiblility: A. Krasi nski, e-mail: akr@camk.edu.pl.
Matvei Bronstein murdered in February 1938 in Stalins purges.
M. Bronstein
Leningrad, USSR
e-mail for correspondence: akr@camk.edu.pl
1 3
268 M. Bronstein
QUANTUM THEORY OF WEAK GRAVITATIONAL
FIELDS
1
By M. Bronstein.
(Received on 2. January 1936)
1. General remarks. 2. Hamiltonian form and plane waves. 3. Commutation
relations and eigenvalues of the energy. 4. Let us undertake a little gedanken experiment!
5. Interaction with matter. 6. Energy transfer by gravitational waves. 7. Deduction
of Newtons law of gravitation.
1. Ge n e r a l r e ma r k s
It is known that the deviations of a space-time continuum from Euclid-
eanness can be characterized by the components of the Riemann - Christoel
tensor. When these deviations are small, this fourth-rank tensor eld can be
derived from a symmetric second-rank tensor eld as follows:
() =
1
2
_

2
h

+

2
h

2
h

2
h

_
, (1)
where h

is the small deviation of the fundamental metric tensor from its

Minkowskian value

(
00
= 1,
11
=
22
=
33
= 1;

= 0, if =
). In these circumstances, we consider the world as Euclidean with the
metric tensor

, and () as the components of a fourth-rank tensor eld

embedded in this at world. Thereby h

play the role of the potentials,

whose values can be xed by four additional gauge conditions
[, ] = 0 ( = 0, 1, 2, 3). (2)
(Here and in what follows the summation convention applies only to Greek
indices, also in the sense that e.g. A

denotes A
00
A
11
A
22
A
33
; it
allows us not to worry about the dierence between co- and contravariant
components; [, ] is the usual notation for the three-index Christoel sym-
bol).
In empty space, the equations of gravitation read
() = 0. (3)
1
A more detailed summary of this work appears simultaneously in Journal of Exper-
imental and Theoretical Physics (russian).
1 3
Republication of: Quantum theory of weak gravitational elds 269
Under the gauge conditions (2), they are fully equivalent to the usual wave
equations for potentials
h

= 0. (4)
In what follows, we consider a quantum-mechanical continuous system, for
which the classical equations of motion can be written in the form (4); along
with the additional conditions (2), which, as we shall show, are compatible
with the S c h r o d i n g e r equation for the quantum-mechanical system un-
der consideration, this system is identical to the gravitational eld in empty
space. This treatment is, to some extent, analogous to F e r m i s quan-
tization of electrodynamics: F e r m i s depends on a non-gauge-invariant
Lagrangian; our quantization of the gravitational eld also relies on quanti-
ties that are not (even approximately) relativistic invariants.
2 . Ha mi l t o ni a n f o r m a nd pl a ne wa v e s
Let us consider a dynamical continuum with ten elds h

( ), which
play the role of mechanical coordinates with the Lagrangian density
[, ] [, ] [, ] [, ] +
1
2
[, ] [, ] .
Rather complicated calculations, which we omit here for brevity, show that
the corresponding Hamiltonian density is
2
_
p
00
+

l
h
0l
x
l
_
2

1
4
_
3p
00

l
p
ll
+ 2

l
h
0l
x
l
_
2

1
2

l
_
p
0l
+
h
00
x
l
+

m
h
ml
x
m
_
2
+
+
1
4

n
_
2p
nn
+ p
00

l
p
ll
+ 2
h
0n
x
n
_
2
+
+
1
2

l<m
_
p
lm
+
h
0m
x
l
+
h
0l
x
m
_
2
+
1
8

l
_
h
00
x
l
_
2

1
4

lm
_
h
0l
x
m

h
0m
x
l
_
2
+
1
4

lm
h
00
x
l
h
mm
x
l

1
2
_

l
h
0l
x
l
_
2

1 3
270 M. Bronstein

1
8

m
_

x
m

l
h
ll
_
2
+
1
4

lmn
_
h
ln
x
m
_
2
+
+
1
2

lmn
_
h
lm
x
m
h
ln
x
n

h
lm
x
n
h
ln
x
m
_
,
where p

are the momenta conjugate to the coordinates h

and that the

corresponding equations of motion are (4). Here and in what follows, Latin
indices take the values (1, 2, 3) only. For simplicity we have also set the
speed of light to 1 and the Newtonian gravitational constant to 1/16. (The
reader can easily verify the value of gravitational constant if he compares
our formulas e.g. with the formulas 58.1 and 59.4 of E d d i n g t o ns book
Relativit atstheorie in mathematischer Behandlung, Berlin, Springer 1925.)
Now let us introduce the Fourier expansion,
h

=
1
(2)
3/2
_
dk
_
h
,k
e
i(tkr)
+ h
+
,k
e
i(tkr)

(where = |k|). The Hamiltonian can the be calculated to be

H =
_
dk
2
_
1
2
_
h
+
00,k
+

l
h
+
ll,k
__
h
00,k
+

l
h
ll,k
_
+
+

l=m
_
h
lm,k
h
+
lm,k
h
+
ll,k
h
mm,k
_
2

l
h
0l,k
h
+
0l,k
_
. (5)
(At rst sight, the factor-ordering seems to be arbitrary, but it will be clear
from what follows that this is the only one that will avoid quantumzero-
point energy.)
After Fourier expansion, the conditions (2) take the following form
1
2
(h
00,k
+

l
h
ll,k
) +

l
k
l
h
0l,k
= 0,
h
0l,k
+

m
k
m
h
ml,k
+
1
2
k
l
(h
00,k

m
h
mm,k
) = 0
(l = 1, 2, 3).
_

_
(6)
Hence the number of independent h
,k
(for a given k) is equal to 10 4 = 6.
However one may easily show that for many problems where e.g., energy
1 3
Republication of: Quantum theory of weak gravitational elds 271
transfer by gravitational waves is discussed, the number of independent po-
larizations is even fewer. Let us consider e.g., the case kz. Then the condi-
tions (6) become
h
11,k
+ h
22,k
= h
00,k
+ 2h
03,k
+ h
33,k
= h
01,k
+ h
31,k
=
= h
02,k
+ h
32,k
= 0. (6

)
Taking into account the relation (6

) one may write the energy content of the

gravitational wave in the form
2dk
2
_
h
+
12,k
h
12,k
+ h
+
11,k
h
11,k
_
.
(Using the conditions (6

) the integrand in (5) can be easily brought to this

form, if all h
,k
and h
+
,k
commute; later we shall see, that even when the
h and h
+
are quantized and do not commute, a similar result holds.) Thus,
without changing the energy content of the gravitational wave, we can sub-
ject the 10 amplitudes h
,k
to four additional conditions besides (6). For
example, we can choose (also when k is not parallel to z) the following (albeit
relativistically non-invariant) additional conditions:
h
00,k
= h
01,k
= h
02,k
= h
03,k
= 0.
Thus we see among other things that for the energy transfer only the trans-
verse gravitational waves are signicant, namely those with two independent
polarizations. However, the situation is quite dierent if one considers not
energy transfer but e.g., gravitational interaction between two massive bod-
ies: we shall see below that for this interaction only the longitudinal h

waves dominate.
3 . Co mmu t a t i o n r e l a t i o n s a n d e i g e n v a l u e s
o f t he e ne r g y.
The H e i s e n b e r g P a u l i commutation relations read
2
:
[h

(r), h

(r

)] = 0,
[p

(r), p

(r

)] = 0,
[p

(r), h

(r

)] =
h
i

(r r

) ( ,

).
_
_
_
(7)
2
Here h means h/2.
1 3
272 M. Bronstein
After Fourier expansion, we obtain
[h
,k
, h

,k
] = 0,
_
h
+
,k
, h
+

,k

= 0,
_
h
+
00,k
, h
00,k

=
_
h
+
00,k
, h
ll,k

=
_
h
+
ll,k
, h
ll,k

=
h
2
(k k

),
_
h
+
00,k
, h
0l,k

=
_
h
+
ll,k
, h
0m,k

=
_
h
+
0l,k
, h
mn,k

= 0,
_
h
+
00,k
, h
lm,k

=
_
h
+
nn,k
, h
lm,k

= 0 (l = m),
_
h
+
ll,k
, h
mm,k

=
h
2
(k k

) (l = m),
_
h
+
0l,k
, h
0m,k

=
h
2

lm
(k k

),
_
h
+
lm,k
, h
pq,k

=
h
2

lp

mq
(k k

) (l < m, p < q).

_

_
(8)
We introduce the operators
A =
1
2

_
h
00,k
+

l
h
ll,k
_
+

l
k
l
h
0l,k
,
B
l
= h
0l,k
+

m
k
m
h
ml,k
+
1
2
k
l
_
h
00,k

m
h
mm,k
_
.
Calculation shows that due to (8) all eight operators A, B
l
, A
+
, B
+
l
(l =
1, 2, 3) commute with each other. But they do not commute with the Hamil-
tonian (5), i.e. they are not integrals of motion. However in the particular
case, when
A = B
l
= A
+
= B
+
l
= 0,
one can easily show, that the Poisson brackets of any of these operators and
the Hamiltonian, i.e. the rates of change of these operators, are all zero.
It means that the conditions (6) (and their conjugates) are compatible with
each other and with the quantum-mechanical equations of motion.
The commutation relations (8), the Hamiltonian operator (5) and the
additional conditions (6) (together with the ansatz for the interaction be-
tween gravitational eld and matter, which will be introduced later) form
the foundation of the quantum theory of gravity proposed here. Note that
the quantum-mechanical Hamiltonian operator can never be uniquely spec-
ied by the correspondence principle: it is always possible to change the
Hamiltonian by introducing additional terms that go to zero when h 0
1 3
Republication of: Quantum theory of weak gravitational elds 273
(e.g., spin terms in the theory of the electron); in general even relativistic
requirements are not sucient to x these spin terms uniquely. Neverthe-
less, we believe that adding such terms is not necessary here.
Now to calculate the eigenvalues of the energy! As in the quantum elec-
trodynamics this is accomplished by introducing the new variables that
satisfy the commutation relations
_
,
+

= 1.
The eigenvalues of

are well-known to equal n+1, and those of

+
equal
n, where n is a positive integer or zero.
Here it is not possible to introduce these -variables in a symmetric man-
ner. One possible solution of the problem looks like this,
1
2
_
h
00,k
+

l
h
ll,k
_
=
_
h
2dk

00,k
e
it
,
h
11,k
=
_
h
2dk
_

+
11,k

3
e
it
+

22,k

3
e
it
+
33,k
e
it
_
,
h
22,k
=
_
h
2dk
_

+
11,k

3
e
it
+

22,k

3
e
it

33,k
e
it
_
,
h
33,k
=
_
h
2dk
_

+
11,k

3
e
it

22,k
e
it
_
,
h
lm,k
=
_
h
2dk

lm,k
e
it
(l = m),
h
0l,k
=
_
h
2dk

+
0l,k
e
it
.
The Hamiltonian in the new variables transforms into
H =

k
h
_

+
00,k

00,k
+
12,k

+
12,k
+
23,k

+
23,k
+
13,k

+
13,k

+
01,k

01,k

+
02,k

02,k

+
03,k

03,k

11,k

+
11,k
+
+
+
22,k

22,k
+
+
33,k

33,k
_
.
_

_
(5

)
Therefore the eigenvalues of the energy (for each value of k) are
h (n
00
+ n
12
+ n
23
+ n
31
n
01
n
02
n
03
n
11
+ n
22
+ n
33
+ 2) ,
1 3
274 M. Bronstein
where n
00
, n
12
, ... are ten quantum numbers (n = 0, 1, 2, ...).
The conditions (6) make this expression positive denite. To see this, we
again consider the case kz. From (6) we then obtain the following conditions:

00,k
e
it
+

03,k
e
it
= 0,

01,k
e
it
+
13,k
e
it
= 0,

02,k
e
it
+
23,k
e
it
= 0,

11,k
e
it
+
22,k
e
it
= 0.
From this it follows that
n
01
= n
31
+ 1, n
02
= n
23
+ 1, n
22
= n
11
+ 1, n
03
= n
00
+ 1.
The eigenvalues of the energy for this k become
h
_

12,k

12,k
+

33,k

33,k
_
= h (n
12
+ n
33
) .
We see, consequently, that the energy of the gravitational eld consists of
positive gravitational quanta, of two polarizations for each wave vector k.
In analogy to the classical case, also here only the transverse gravitational
excitations matter: e.g., for k||z, these are h
12
and 1/2 (h
11
h
22
).
No zero-point energy terms arise in the process, due to the suitably
chosen factor-ordering in the expression (5).
4 . Le t us unde r t a k e a l i t t l e g e da nk e n e x pe r i me nt !
In order to understand somewhat better the physical content of the quan-
tum theory of the gravitational eld, let us consider the measurement of
one of the eld quantities appearing here, for example, of the three-index
Christoel symbol [00, 1]. The classical E i n s t e i n equations of motion read
in our case (all h

1):
d
2
x
dt
2
=
h
01
t

1
2
h
00
x
= [00, 1]. (9)
Following B o h r and R o s e n f e l d
3
let us consider the measurement of
a space-time average of [00, 1] in volume V and time interval T. Take a
test body of volume V. Let its mass be V . The above equation of motion,
which is valid only when the speed of the test body is small compared to
the speed of light, makes the following measurement possible: let us measure
3
Bohr N. and Rosenfeld L., Dansk. Vidensk. Selskab., Math.-fys. Meddel. 12, 8. 1933.
1 3
Republication of: Quantum theory of weak gravitational elds 275
the momentum of the test body at the beginning and at the end of a time
interval T; then by denition the required average is
(p
x
)
t+T
(p
x
)
t
V T
.
Therefore the measurement of [00, 1] is associated with an uncertainty of
order
[00, 1] p
x
/V T, (10)
where p
x
is the uncertainty in momentum. Let the duration of the mo-
mentum measurement be t (of course, t T); x be the uncertainty
in the coordinate associated with measuring the momentum. The uncer-
tainty p
x
consists of two terms: the usual quantum-mechanical h/x and
one associated with the gravitational eld produced by the test body itself
because of its recoil due to the measurement. Because of E i n s t e i n s equa-
tion of gravitation h
01
= v
x
the uncertainty in h
01
, which appears as a
consequence of the undetermined recoil speed x/t, must be of the order

x
t
t
2
. One can see from (9), that the corresponding uncertainty in [00, 1]
is of the order x, and therefore during every measurement of momentum
there appears an additional uncertainty in momentum connected with the
gravitational eld, which is of order x V t. In order to simplify the
comparison with the usual units of measurement we suspend our convention
c = 1, G = 1/16 (till the end of this section). For the momentum we obtain
p
x

h
x
+ G
2
V xt.
It can be shown (similarly to the arguments of B o h r and R o s e n f e l d)
that the second term can be made arbitrarily small compared to the rst. But
in order to make the best measurement of [00, 1] it seems more appropriate
to bring p
x
to its minimum, i.e. to make both terms of the same order.
Thus one should choose x of the order
x
1

_
h
GV t
_
1/2
.
For [00, 1] we obtain
[00, 1]
h
1/2
G
1/2
t
1/2
V
1/2
T
. (11)
1 3
276 M. Bronstein
Thus an absolutely precise measurement of the gravitational eld would be
possible only if an arbitrarily rapid measurement of momentum were possible.
But two circumstances make the latter impossible: rstly, according to the
denition of the measurement, x V
1/3
should hold, and it leads to
t
h

2
GV
5/3
.
Secondly, according to the theory of relativity, x can never be greater than
ct, and it leads to
t
h
1/3
c
2/3

2/3
V
1/3
G
1/3
.
It follows from (11) that [00, 1] can never be made smaller than
h
TV
4/3
or
h
2/3
G
1/3
c
1/3

1/3
V
2/3
T
.
Of these two bounds the rst is the only signicant one for the case of a light
test body (V h
1/2
c
1/2
G
1/2
, i.e. smaller than approximately 0.01 mg). For
a heavier test body the second one is the most signicant. It is clear that for
the most precise measurement possible of [00, 1] heavy test bodies should be
used, so only the second bound is of theoretical importance. We nally have
[00, 1]
h
2/3
G
1/3
c
1/3

1/3
V
2/3
T
. (12)
Thus it is clear that in the region where all h

are small compared to 1

(this is just the meaning of the word weak in the title of this paper),
accuracy of gravity measurements can be increased arbitrarily: as in this
domain of phenomena the approximate linearized equations (1) hold, conse-
quently the superposition principle is also valid, and it is therefore always
possible to create a test body of arbitrary large . From this we conclude
that it is possible, just as, e.g., this paper attempts to do, to construct a
completely self-consistent quantum theory of gravity within the framework
of special relativity (i.e. when the space-time continuum is Euclidean).
However, within the domain of General Relativity theory, where deviations
from Euclideanness can be arbitrary large, the situation is quite dierent.
Indeed the gravitational radius of the test body used for the measurement
(GV/c
2
) cannot be larger than its linear dimensions
_
V
1/3
_
; this means that
1 3
Republication of: Quantum theory of weak gravitational elds 277
the upper bound on its density is ( c
2
/GV
2/3
). Consequently, in this do-
main the possibilities of measurement are even more restricted than those
due to the quantum-mechanical commutation relations. Without a deep re-
vision of classical notions it seems hardly possible to extend the quantum
theory of gravity also to this domain.
5 . I nt e r a c t i o n wi t h ma t t e r
The Ansatz for the energy of interaction between gravitational eld and
matter that is consistent with the correspondence principle can be obtained
from the general relativistic form of the D i r a c wave equation established
by V. F o c k.
4
When all h

are small compared to 1, this equation can be

written, for vanishing electromagnetic eld, in the following form:
h
i
3

k=0
e
k
a
k
_

x
k

1
2
3

l=0
e
l
h
kl

x
l
_
+
+
_
1
8
h
i
3

k=0
h
00
x
k

k
m
_
= 0,
where
e
0
= 1, e
1
= e
2
= e
3
= 1
and

0
= 1,
1
=
1

1
,
2
=
1

2
,
3
=
1

3
, =
3
(the Dirac matrices). If we introduce two two-component functions and
instead of the four-component -function:

1
=
1
e
imt/h
,
2
=
2
e
imt/h
,
3
=
1
e
imt/h
,
4
=
2
e
imt/h
,
then for decreasing particle velocity, goes to zero, and tends to its non-
relativistic wave function. From the S c h r o d i n g e r equation for these

x
one can see that the interaction energy between the particle and the
gravitational eld takes the form
V =
m
2
h
00
+
h
i

k
h
0k

x
k

h
2
2m

kl
h
kl

2
x
k
x
l

h
2
4m

kl
h
kl
x
l

x
k
+
4
V. Fock, ZS. f. Phys., 57, 261, 1929.
1 3
278 M. Bronstein
+
h
4i

l
h
0l
x
l
+
h
2
4mi

jklm

j
e
jlm
h
km
x
l

x
k
+
h
4

jlm

j
e
jlm
h
0m
x
l
,
where e
jlm
is the skew-symmetric unit tensor (i.e. e
123
= 1 and e
jlm
is anti-
symmetric with respect to each pair of its indices). When the wavelength of
the gravitational perturbations is suciently large, this expression simplies
to
V =
m
2
h
00
+
h
i

k
h
0k

x
k

h
2
2m

kl
h
kl

2
x
k
x
l
. (13)
We shall use the relation (13) below. Note that even simple considerations
based on the correspondence principle, without going through the D i r a c -
F o c k equation, also lead to the relation(13) for the interaction energy.
6. Ene r g y t r a ns f e r by g r a v i t a t i o na l wa v e s
One of the simplest applications of the quantum theory of gravity sketched
above is in the calculation of the energy radiation into gravitational waves
emitted by material systems. Here we make use of the conditions (6) and
(6

) together with h
00,k
= h
01,k
= h
02,k
= h
03,k
= 0. In the -variables (see
above, 3) for the case kz it leads to
V =
m
8
_
hdk

__

_
x
2
1
x
2
2
_
+ 2 x
1
x
2

e
ikr
+
+
_

+
_
x
2
1
x
2
2
_
+ 2
+
x
1
x
2

e
ikr
_
, (14)
where for brevity x
k
is written instead of
h
mi

x
k
, and and are written
instead of
33
and
12
. Let us denote the initial or the nal state of the
emitting particle by k or l, the initial or the nal state of the gravitational
excitations by k

or l

. For the transition probability per unit time quantum

mechanics gives the well-known expression
2
h
(E
l
+ E
l
E
k
E
k
) |(kk

|V | ll

)|
2
.
Using the known values of oscillator matrix elements we conclude that the
probability of spontaneous emission of a gravitation quantum per unit time,
with a given k (k||z) and with - polarization is
m
2
32
2
dk

_
k

x
2
1
x
2
2

l
_

2
(E
l
E
k
+ h) ,
1 3
Republication of: Quantum theory of weak gravitational elds 279
and with -polarization
m
2
32
2
dk

|(k |2 x
1
x
2
| l)|
2
(E
l
E
k
+ h) .
The probability of the transition k l with the simultaneous emission of a
gravitation quantum into a cone d(z) per unit time is therefore
d
8
2
m
2

h
_

_
k

x
2
1
x
2
2
2

l
_

2
+|(k | x
1
x
2
| l)|
2
_
.
It is not dicult to generalize this expression to arbitrary direction (not
only z) and then to integrate over all directions. The calculation leads to
the following result: the total probability (per unit time) of the transition
k l with simultaneous emission of a gravitation quantum of the frequency
= (E
k
E
l
) /h is
m
2

10h
_
_
_

pq
|(k | x
p
x
q
| l)|
2

1
3

_
k

p
x
2
p

l
_

2
_
_
_
.
It is not dicult to generalize this expression also to an arbitrary system of
matter particles. For the energy that such a system loses to gravitational
waves radiated per unit time during the transition k l, we obtain the
expression

2
10
_
_
_

pq

_
k

m x
p
x
q

l
_

1
3

_
k

m x
2
p

l
_

2
_
_
_
(15)
(the summation symbol

without indices means summation over dierent

particles). This formula is the quantum-theoretic generalization of E i n s t e i n
s known result.
Indeed, E i n s t e i ns expression for the energy radiated per unit time in
the form of gravitational waves (with G = 1/16) is
5
1
80
_
_
_

pq
_
d
3
dt
3

mx
p
x
q
_
2

1
3
_

p
d
3
dt
3

mx
2
p
_
2
_
_
_
.
5
In E i n s t e i n s work (Berl. Ber., 1918, p. 154) there is 1/160 instead of 1/80
due to a calculation error. More recent calculations by E d d i n g t o n (see his textbook
or Proc. Roy. Soc. 102, 281, 1922) lead to the correct coecient.
1 3
280 M. Bronstein
If I
pq

mx
p
x
q
can be represented through a Fourier series of the form
I
pq
=
+

k=
I
(k)
pq
e
ik
0
t
,
then this classical expression for the emission of energy at frequency = k
0
becomes

6
40
_
_
_

pq

I
(k)
pq

1
3

p
I
(k)
pp

2
_
_
_
. (16)
On the other hand we have,
_
k

|m x
p
x
q
|

l
_
=

j
_
k

m x
p

j
_ _
j

m x
q

l
_
=
=

j
m(k |x
p
| j) (j |x
q
| l)
kj

jl
.
At lower frequencies and higher quantum numbers, as one can easily calculate
e.g. for the case of a rotator, we can put
2
instead of 2
kj

jl
( = the
emitted frequency), and it gives approximately
_
k

m x
p
x
q

l
_
=

2
2
(k |I
pq
| l) .
Then the expression (15) becomes

6
40
_
_
_

pq
|(k |I
pq
| l)|
2

1
3

p
(k |I
pp
| l)

2
_
_
_
.
If we replace Fourier amplitudes for matrix elements, this expression goes
over into E i n s t e i n s (16) classical one. Thus in the limit h 0 the
quantum theory of gravity agrees with classical E i n s t e i n theory.
7. De r i v a t i o n o f Ne wt o n s l a w o f g r a v i t a t i o n
D i r a c showed
6
that various interactions between charges can be always
interpreted as realized through a mediation by an intermediate agent, namely
6
Dirac P.A.M.- Proc. Roy. Soc. 136, 453, 1932.
1 3
Republication of: Quantum theory of weak gravitational elds 281
by the quantized eld. Here we will show that is also the case for gravitational
phenomena. At rst glance, this looks a little paradoxical because both
expressions for the interaction between eld and matter are almost exactly
the same [e is the main term of interaction in the electromagnetic case; if
we write m/2 instead of the charge e, and replace the scalar potential with
the scalar potential h
00
, we obtain the main term in (13)]; yet, the very same
scheme should in one case explain the repulsion of particles of the same type
(Coulomb force), but in the other case the attraction (Newtonian forces). The
solution of the paradox lies in the fact that in quantum electrodynamics, the
commutation relations for the potential are
_

+
k
,
k

=
h
2
(k k

),
while in our case another commutation relation applies, namely (cf. (8))
_
h
+
00,k
, h
00,k

=
h
2
(k k

).
Neither commutation relations are introduced a d h o c, but originated
quite naturally from the general quantum-mechanical formalism. As we shall
see this suces to obtain the correct sign of the gravitational interactions.
T h u s , t h e f u n d a m e n t a l d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n C o u l o m b
a n d Ne wt o n i a n f o r c e s i s e x p l a i n e d f r o m q u a n t u m
me c h a n i c s .
Following the idea of D i r a c, F o c k and P o d o l s k y
7
derived
Coulombs law. Our calculation proceeds exactly parallel to theirs. We start
from the equations
_
1
2m
1
p
1
2
+
m
1
2
h
00
(r
1
)
_
+
h
i

t
1
= 0,
_
1
2m
2
p
2
2
+
m
2
2
h
00
(r
2
)
_
+
h
i

t
2
= 0.
At t
1
= t
2
= t we have
_
1
2m
1
p
1
2
+
1
2m
2
p
2
2
+
h
i

t
_
=
_
m
1
2
h
00
(r
1
) +
m
2
2
h
00
(r
2
)
_
.
7
V. F o c k and B. P o d o l s k y, Sow. Phys. 1, 801, 1932 (Part II).
1 3
282 M. Bronstein
The expansion of the solution in the powers of m
1
and m
2
is required.
Due to the above-mentioned dierence between the commutation rela-
tions, instead of the formulas (39) and (40) of F o c k and P o d o l s k y we
obtain the following formulas:

_
1
2m
1
p
1
2
+
1
2m
2
p
2
2
+
h
i

t
_

m
1
2(2)
3/2
_
h
00,k

1
(p
1
hk, p
2
)e
it
dk +
+
m
2
2(2)
3/2
_
h
00,k

1
(p
1
, p
2
hk)e
it
dk;

_
1
2m
1
p
1
2
+
1
2m
2
p
2
2
+
h
i

t
_

m
1
2(2)
3/2
_
h
+
00,k

0
(p
1
+ hk, p
2
)e
it
dk +
+
m
2
2(2)
3/2
_
h
+
00,k

0
(p
1
, p
2
+ hk)e
it
dk.
Then,
8

1
(p
1
, p
2
) =

m
1
2(2)
3/2
h
3
h
+
00,
p
1
0
p
1
h
(p
2
p
2
0
)
j0
W W
0
+|p
1
0
p
1
|
e
i
|p
1
0
p
1
|W
0
h
t

m
2
2(2)
3/2
h
3
h
+
00,
p
2
0
p
2
h
(p
1
p
1
0
)
j0
W W
0
+|p
2
0
p
2
|
e
i
|p
2
0
p
2
|W
0
h
t
.
Let us put
h
+
00,k
h
00,k
0 and h
00,k
h
+
00,k

h
2
(k k

).
After removing the innite self-interaction term we nally obtain
_
1
2m
1
p
1
2
+
1
2m
2
p
2
2
+
h
i

t
_

m
1
m
2
4(2)
3/2
h
(p
1
p
1
0
+ p
2
p
2
0
)
j0
|p
1
p
1
0
|
2
e

i
h
W
0
t
.
8
For the notations see V. F o c k and B. P o d o l s k y , loc. cit.
1 3
Republication of: Quantum theory of weak gravitational elds 283
The sign of the right-hand side is dierent than in the F o c k - P o d o l s k y
formula (42). When we go back to the conguration space we accordingly
obtain the S c h r o d i n g e r equation with the potential energy

m
1
m
2
16|r
1
r
2
|
,
and thus we have recovered Newtonian gravitation as a necessary consequence
of the quantum theory of gravity.
The Physical-Technical Institute
and The Physical Institute of the University.
Leningrad, August 1935.
1 3