The affine structure of gravitational theories: Symplectic groups and geometry

Abstract

We give a geometrical description of gravitational theories from the viewpoint of symmetries and affine structure. We show how gravity, considered as a gauge theory, can be consistently achieved by the nonlinear realization of the conformal-affine group in an indirect manner: due to the partial isomorphism between CA(3, 1) and the centrally extended Sp( 8), we perform a nonlinear realization of the centrally extended ( CE )Sp( 8) in its semi-simple version. In particular, starting from the bundle structure of gravity, we derive the conformal-affine Lie algebra and then, by the nonlinear realization, we define the coset field transformations, the Cartan forms and the inverse Higgs constraints. Finally, we discuss the geometrical Lagrangians where all the information on matter fields and their interactions can be contained.