International Journal of Theoretical Physics...

Volume 14, Number 1, pp. 4362

ISSN 1525-4674
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A S PIN - CONNECTION G AUGE F IELD T HEORY

OF G RAVITATION
Jian Qi Shen1,2,
1 Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research,
East Building No. 5, Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University,
Hangzhou 310058, The Peoples Republic of China
2 Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics, Department of Physics,
Yuquan Campus, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027,
The Peoples Republic of China

Abstract
A new scheme using the vierbein formulation to reformulate general relativity as a
Yang-Mills type gauge field theory, where the gravitational Lagrangian is constructed
based on the local Lorentz-group gauge invariance with spin-affine connection involved in covariant derivatives, is suggested. One of the most remarkable features
is that the Einstein field equation of gravitation is a first-integral solution to the YangMills equation of the spin-affine connection gauge field. As this is an alternative way
(containing a new gravitational Lagrangian whose dynamical variable is spin-affine
connection) to obtain the Einstein equation of gravitation, it could provide us with a
new insight into the relationship between gravitation and Yang-Mills gauge interactions and with new route to look at the cosmological constant problem.

Packs 04.20.Cv, 04.20.Fy, 04.50.+h, 11.10.Ef

Keywords: Vierbein formulation, Yang-Mills type gauge interaction of gravitation, spinaffine connection, gravitational gauge field

1.

Introduction

Increasing evidences are suggesting that Einsteins gravity theory is an ideal candidate to
account for the present cosmic structure and evolution, and hence becomes a foundation
of modern cosmology [1]. In the literature, however, many new formalisms, concepts and
methods have been suggested in order to develop the theory of Einstein gravity, partly because general relativity (GR) is a real-metric, torsion-free theory, and could be extended to
more general cases [2, 3, 4, 5]. Though many references have pointed out that the gravitational field is a non-Abelian gauge field [6, 7], yet in fact the field equation in GR is not
a version of Yang-Mills type (i.e., the local Lorentz symmetry in the formulation of both
metric and Levi-Civita connection does not allow to describe gravitation as a Yang-Mills
E-mail

address: jqshen@coer.zju.edu.cn, jqshencn@yahoo.com.cn. (Corresponding author.)

44

Jian Qi Shen

type gauge interaction). A large number of researchers have investigated the structure of
GR, tried to uncover the relationship between the gravitational field equation and the YangMills type equation, or constructed new gravitational gauge theories in order to unify the
gravitational and Yang-Mills fields [8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14]. We find that the reason why
GR does not look like a Yang-Mills field theory lies in that these two gauge interactions
are formulated in different languages: specifically, GR is constructed using the Levi-Civita
connection (in terms of the metric), while the Yang-Mills gauge field theory is described
using the non-Abelian gauge field connection (which can actually be expressed in terms of
the so-called Yang-Mills vielbein). In other words, in the Yang-Mills gauge theory, the
connection and the dynamical variable are exactly the same, while in GR, the connection
(Levi-Civita connection) and the dynamical variable (metric) are not the same object. However, this asymmetry between GR and Yang-Mills gauge field theory could be avoided if
one introduces the formulation of vierbein (the vielbein in four dimensions) into gravitation, and reformulate the equation of GR using the vierbein fields. In this paper, we shall
demonstrate that in the formulation of vierbein, where the spin-affine connection (or spin
connection, for brevity) is written in terms of the gravitational vierbein fields, one can identify the spin connection with the dynamical variable of a non-Abelian gauge field (with local
Lorentz-group gauge symmetry), and GR can then be reformulated as a gauge field theory
of Yang-Mills type, where both the gravitational Lagrangian and the field equation are suggested based on the local Lorentz-group gauge invariance with spin connection involved in
the local Lorentz-group Yang-Mills covariant derivatives.
We shall show that the Einstein equation of gravitation is one of the first-integral solutions (a terminology in the theory of differential equations) to the field equation of the
spin-connection Yang-Mills type gauge field. This is a physically interesting way (with
the spin-affine connection being the dynamical variable) to obtain the Einstein equation of
gravitation. This formalism differs from the traditional way where the metric serves as the
dynamical variable. Therefore, it might provide us with greater insight concerning the relationship between the gravity and the Yang-Mills gauge interactions, as well as new route
to interpret the problem of the nonzero but small cosmological constant [15]. It is shown
that the cosmological constant term (due to the dark energy, quintessence, or the quantum vacuum fluctuation) in the Yang-Mills type gravitational gauge field equation makes
no contributions to gravity, since our spin-connection gauge field equation is a third-order
differential equation of metric. In the first-integral solution, however, there is really an
integration constant that can be viewed as an equivalent cosmological constant depending
on the boundary conditions (or the initial conditions) of the gravitating system itself. We
believe that, in order to solve the cosmological constant problem [15, 16, 17], we should
elucidate the physical meanings of the cosmological constant from other possible aspects
or new insights, and then interpret the problem by using new dynamical equations with new
dynamical variables. We will suggest a very different viewpoint about the physical meanings of the cosmological constant based on the present gravitational gauge field equation.
This paper is organized as follows: we first present the affine connection in the vierbein formulation, and discuss the gravitational gauge field (i.e., the Riemannian curvature
in the vierbein formulation) and the local Lorentz-group gauge invariance. Then we construct a gravitational Lagrangian and the interaction Lagrangian under the local Lorentz
symmetry, and derive the Einstein equation of gravitation as a first-integral solution. In

A Spin-connection Gauge Field Theory of Gravitation

45

the traditional formulation of metric and Levi-Civita connection, the dynamical variable of
the gravitational field is the metric. In the formulation of vierbein and spin connection,
however, the gravitational dynamical variable is the spin connection, and thus GR seems
to be a Yang-Mills type gauge field theory. Based on the newly derived gravitational field
equation, the physical origin of an equivalent cosmological constant is suggested. Since the
equivalent cosmological constant originating from the integration constant depends upon
the gravitating system itself (such as the cosmological initial or boundary condition, and
other large-scale structures), it would be possible to interpret the problem of the nonzero
but small cosmological constant that is close to the critical density. Some relevant topics
such as the spinor representation of the local Lorentz group, the spin-connection gauge
theory with torsion, the gravitation with complex Hermitian metric are briefly discussed.

2.

Local Lorentz Symmetry and Spin-Affine Connection

We will consider the local Lorentz-group gauge invariance of our prescription, and study
the gauge symmetry of the curvature and spin connection in the vierbein formulation (in
the literature, such a gauge symmetry has been investigated by many authors [6, 7]). In
order to suggest a Yang-Mills type field equation of gravitation, we should first reformulate
the Riemannian geometry and torsionless gravity using the formulation of vierbein, where
the vierbein fields satisfy the relations g = r er and = r er . In this paper, we
choose the metric sign convention (+ ). If the metric g (viewed as the element of
a matrix g) is a complex Hermitian metric (i.e., g has a symmetric real part and an antisymmetric imaginary part), then one can show that er = (r ) and r = (er ) , where
the asterisk denotes the complex conjugate. Here, the Greek and Latin indices denote the
Einstein local coordinate indices and the Lorentz coordinate indices (the spacetime indices
of a local inertial frame), respectively. A gravity theory can be established based on the
complex Hermitian-metric Riemannian geometry. In this theory, the nonzero torsion tensor must appear, since the contorsion is no longer a tensor and cannot be taken to be zero.
In the gravity theory with real symmetric metric, however, the contorsion is a tensor, and
then both the contorsion and the torsion can be assumed to be zero. We can, in principle,
suggest a Yang-Mills type gravity theory in the vierbein formulation, where the complex
Hermitian-metric Riemannian spacetime exhibits its nonzero torsion. But as a tentative
study, now we concentrate our attention only on the curvature-only theory, where g is
a real Hermitian metric and the contorsion is taken to be zero (besides, the metric is assumed to be analytic. It should be noted that a gravitomagnetic monopole [18] would lead
to non-analytic metric, which we will not consider here). Under this condition, one can
arrive at er = r and r = er (and hence we have r = er and er = r ), as well as
the relations between the metric and the vierbeins g = er er and = er er . The LeviCivita covariant derivatives of the vierbeins are defined through er = er er
and er = er + er . It follows that the Levi-Civita affine connection can be expressed in terms of the vierbein fields:
= er er + S ,

(2.1)

where S = er er ( denotes the Levi-Civita covariant derivative). With the help of

the definition of Levi-Civita covariant derivative, the second-order covariant derivative of

46

Jian Qi Shen

the vierbein er yields a relation

er ;; er ;; = er R

(er ;; er ;; ) es = er R es .

(2.2)

If we define the curvature tensor (gravitational gauge field tensor) ( )rs in the vierbein formulation as ( )rs = er R es , then the result in Eq. (2.2) can be rewritten as ( )rs = (er ;; er ;; ) es . Let us now calculate the terms er ;; es and
er ;; es . By using the Leibnitz rule, we can obtain er ;; es = (er ; es ); er ; es ; ,
where we have er ; es = Ss r and (er ; es ); =
Ss r . In the meanwhile, we have
er ; es ; = er ; et et es ; , which is St r es ; et = St r St s = St r Ss t , and subsequently, er ; es ; = Ss t St r = (S )st (S )tr = (S S )sr . Now with the help of the following relations
(er ; es ); = Ss r ,

er ; es ; = (S S )rs ,

(er ; es ); = Ss r ,

er ; es ; = (S S )rs ,

(2.3)

we can obtain
er ;; es = Ss r + (S S )rs ,

er ;; es = Ss r + (S S )rs .

(2.4)

Thus the Riemannian curvature tensor in the formulation of vierbein is of the form
( )rs = [ Ss r + (S S )rs ] [ Ss r + (S S )rs ]
= Sr s Sr s + (S S )rs (S S )rs
= ( S S + [S , S ])rs .

(2.5)

We are now in a position to study the property of the spin connection (S )rs (i.e., Sr s ).
It can be readily verified that Sr s is antisymmetric in indices r and s, Sr s = Ss r , i.e.,
(S )rs = (S )sr
. If r, s are regarded as the matrix indices, then one can have an identity

(S )rs (S )sr . As the metric and vierbeins chosen in this paper are real, the identity is
reduced to the form (S )rs (S )sr . Thus, we can obtain (S )sr = (S )sr , i.e., S = S .
If we define a new quantity S = iS , then we have (S )rs = (S )rs , i.e., S = S . This
means that S is a Hermitian spin-connection non-Abelian gauge field potential (dynamical
variable). Therefore, the gravitational gauge field tensor (curvature) in Eq. (2.5) can be
rewritten as

rs
1
S S i[S , S ] ,
(2.6)
( )rs =
i


or it is of the form = S S i[S , S ] /i, if the matrix indices r, s are omitted.
It follows that we can define a Hermitian spin-connection gauge field strength (curvature)
= i . Thus, one can have
= S S i[S , S ], or the matrix components

rs
rs

( ) = S S i[S , S ] .
In the regular prescription of gravity in GR, where the formulation of both metric and
Levi-Civita connection is used, there are almost no similarities between GR and Yang-Mills
theory seen from the mathematical structures of the field equations. In the formulation of
vierbein, however, the local Lorentz-group Yang-Mills type gauge symmetry can be easily

A Spin-connection Gauge Field Theory of Gravitation

47

revealed. We define the Lorentz rotation (in the representation of tensor) as U r s = xr /xs
and (U 1 )st = xs /xt , which satisfy the orthogonality relation
U r s (U 1 )st = (UU 1 )r t = r t

(2.7)

because of (xr /xs )(xs /xt ) = r t . In general, the Lorentz rotation (in the representation
of tensor) can be written explicitly in terms of the Lorentz group generators as the following
exponential forms




i
i
pq rs
r
pq r
rs
U s = exp pq (J ) s ,
(2.8)
U = exp pq (J ) ,
2
2
where the Lorentz group generators (in the representation of tensor) are given by (J pq )rs =
i ( pr qs ps qr ) and (J pq )r s = i ( pr q s p s qr ). Here, pr denotes the flat Minkowski
metric, and q s q s . We point out that the Lorentz group elements, U r t and U rt , have the
following properties:
(i) The Lorentz indices (i.e., the matrix indices r, s,t...) can be raised and lowered by the
flat Minkowski metric ts , ts , e.g., U rs = U r t ts and U r s = U rt ts , which can be proved
by using the form of Taylor series expansion of the local Lorentz group elements in (2.8).
(ii) The inverse elements of the Lorentz group can be obtained by using the relations
(U 1 )sr = U rs ,

(U 1 )s r = U r s .

(2.9)

These two relations can be verified by using the procedure of Taylor series expansion. Here
we give a proof for (U 1 )sr = U rs : according to the definition of the Lorentz group generators, we can have (J pq )sr = (J pq )rs and (J pq )s r = (J pq )r s . We can then perform the
following calculations:





i n
rs
U
=
p q (J p q )r t p q (J p q )t t p q (J p q )t t
2
n=0
(n1) (n1)

(n2)

(n) (n)

(n1)

p q
p(n1) q(n1) (J p q )t
)t s
t (n1) p(n) q(n) (J



(n) (n) (n1)

(n1) (n1) (n2)
i n
p(n) q(n) (J p q )t s p(n1) q(n1) (J p q )t
=
t (n1)
2
n=0

p q (J p q )t t p q (J p q )t t p q (J p q )r t


(n) (n)
(n1)
(n1) (n1)
(n2)
i n
=
(1)n p(n) q(n) (J p q )st
p(n1) q(n1) (J p q )t (n1) t
2
n=0

p q (J p q )t t p q (J p


i
pq sr
= exp pq (J )
2

)t t p q (J p q )t r

= (U 1 )sr .

(2.10)

(iii) The Lorentz transformation in the vierbein formulation can be considered to be a

unitary transformation (satisfying the relation U = U 1 ). By using the identity
((J pq ) )rs ((J pq )sr ) ,

(2.11)

48

Jian Qi Shen

where r, s are the matrix indices, while p, q are not considered to be the matrix indices
[instead, (pq) will be viewed as the number index of the six Lorentz group generators in four dimensional spacetime], one can have ((J pq )sr ) = [i ( ps qr pr qs )] =
i ( ps qr pr qs ) = i ( pr qs ps qr ) = (J pq )rs . Then, it follows from Eq. (2.11)
that ((J pq ) )rs = (J pq )rs . This means that the Lorentz group generators whose matrix indices are the Lorentz coordinate indices r, s can be viewed as the Hermitian operators, i.e.,
(J pq ) = J pq . Since J pq is a Hermitian operator, one can obtain a relation U = U 1 .
Thus, in this sense (e.g., the Latin indices r, s are viewed as the matrix indices), the Lorentz
rotation, U, is a unitary transformation in the vierbein formulation.
(iv) It is well known that the infinitesimal Lorentz transformation of a vector (say, Pr )
is Pr = r q Pq , where r q is an infinitesimal transformation coefficient satisfying r q =
rs sq with rs being antisymmetric in r, s. Clearly, the Lorentz transformation of Pr can
be written as
xr
Pr = s Ps = U r s Ps ,
(2.12)
x
and then from Eq. (2.12) the infinitesimal transformation is Pr = (i/2) pq (J pq )r s Ps .
This can become (1/2) pq ( pr Pq P p qr ), which is consistent with the infinitesimal
Lorentz transformation Pr = r q Pq mentioned above.
Let us now see how the spin connection transforms under the local Lorentz rotation. It
should be noted that the local Lorentz-group gauge transformation is performed only for
the Latin indices (matrix indices), and that the Greek indices (the Einstein local coordinate
indices) does not enter into the local Lorentz-group transformation:


p


xr s
t x
r p
r
p
rp
(S )
S = e e = s e e t = U r s es et U pt
x
x




r s
t
1 p
r
s
= U s e e (U )t = U s e et (U 1 )t p +U r s es et (U 1 )t p
= U r s (S )st (U 1 )t p +U rt (U 1 )t p

= U r s (S )st (U 1 )t p (U rt )(U 1 )t p .

(2.13)

One can thus show that the Hermitian spin connection S automatically obeys the local
Lorentz-group gauge transformation rule
(S )rp = U r s (S )st (U 1 )t p i(U rt )(U 1 )t p .

(2.14)

It can also be written as (omitting the matrix indices for simplicity)

S = U SU 1 i(U)U 1 .

(2.15)

This means that the spin-affine connection S transforms exactly the same as the dynamical
variable of a Yang-Mills gauge field. In other words, this requires establishing a dynamics
of spin-affine connection for the gravitational interactions.
By using the local Lorentz transformation U rs = exp [(i/2) pq (J pq )rs ] (in the tensor
representation), one can obtain the following transformations of the spin-connection gauge

A Spin-connection Gauge Field Theory of Gravitation

49

potential (dynamical variable) and the gravitational gauge field strength (curvature):




1
1
pq
rs
pq rs

S = D pq J
,
(S ) = D pq (J ) ,
2
2

1
rs
r

) pt (U 1 )t s ,
= U U ,
( ) = U p (


rs

1
1
pq
rs
pq
= i pq J ,
,
) = i pq J ,
,
(
(2.16)

2
2
where D denotes the spin-connection covariant derivative. At this stage, we present the
covariant derivatives (containing the spin connection) of two typical tensors Pr and (P )rt :

D Pr = Pr i(S )r s Ps ,

D (P )rt = (P )rt i[S , P ]rt .

(2.17)

By using the definition of the spin connection (S )tr = et er , one can show from (2.17)
that the spin-connection covariant derivatives of the vierbeins vanish, e.g., D et 0 and
D et 0.
In the vierbein formulation, the spin connection appears in the covariant derivatives
of both tensors (such as four-dimensional velocity vector, momentum vector, and energymomentum tensor) and spinors. For the vector and spinor matter fields (spinning particles),
in the interaction Lagrangian and the field equation, there are additional terms, which govern the coupling of the particle spins to the gravitational fields. But in general, such a
coupling in the macro-world is very weak, and could be ignored in classical gravity and
low-energy gravitational interactions.
We have shown in the tensor representation of the local Lorentz group that the spin
connection and the curvature agree with the Yang-Mills type gauge transformations. In the
sections that follow, we shall show that the Einstein gravity in the vierbein formulation can
be reformulated as a Yang-Mills version, where the dynamical variable of the gravitational
gauge field is the spin connection, which is the compensating potential in the covariant
derivatives corresponding to the local Lorentz-group gauge symmetry.

3.

The Lagrangian Formalism of Gravitational Gauge Theory

Now we suggest a Lagrangian formalism for the local Lorentz-group spin-connection

gauge theory of gravitation. In order to reformulate the Einstein gravity (the torsion-free
symmetric-metric gravity) theory as a field theory of Yang-Mills type that preserves the
local Lorentz gauge group invariance, we construct both the gravitational Lagrangian and
the interaction Lagrangian, and then derive their variations with respect to the spin-affine
connection.

3.1.

The Free Gravitational Lagrangian Density

In the tensor representation of the Lorentz group in four-dimensional spacetime, there are
six group generators (J pq )rs , where the superscripts r, s are the matrix indices, and the subscripts (pq) are considered to be the number index of the six group generators, i.e., (pq)
can be taken to be (01), (02), (03), (12), (13), and (23). In the Yang-Mills field theory,

50

Jian Qi Shen

both the gauge field tensor and the gauge potential can be rewritten as the linear combinations of the gauge group generators (T i )ab , that is, we can have F ab = F i (T i )ab and
A ab = A i (T i )ab , where a, b denote the matrix indices of the group generators, and i is the
number index of the group generators. Likewise, in the spin-connection gauge field theory
)rs and the spin connection (dyof gravitation, both the gravitational gauge field tensor (
rs
namical variable) (S ) can be expressed in terms of the Lorentz group generators (J pq )rs ,
i.e.,
1
)rs = 1 (
) pq (J pq )rs ,
(
(S )rs = (S ) pq (J pq )rs .
(3.18)
2i
2i
) pq /i can be used to construct the gravitational LaThis means that the coefficient (
grangian density. According to the Yang-Mills field theory, the Lagrangian density, L , and
the action, I, must be the local gauge-group invariants quadratic in curvature, and the Lagrangian density is (1/4)F i F i . Then following this rule, the possible candidate for the
/i) pq (
/i) pq . But it should be pointed
gravitational Lagrangian density is (1/4)(

out that (S ) pq and (S )qp actually correspond to the same spin-connection gauge field sim ) pq and (
)qp are in fact
ply because of the antisymmetry in p and q. Therefore, (
/i) pq (
/i) pq for the
the same gauge field strength. Thus, in the candidate (1/4)(
gravitational Lagrangian density, the contribution of the same gauge field strength has been
repeated in the summation over p, q. Thus, in order to avoid the double contributions of
the same gauge field strength, the gravitational Lagrangian density should be written as
/i) pq (
/i) pq , which becomes (1/8)(
) pq (
)qp . With the help of the
(1/8)(
relation (J pq )rs (J mn )sr = 2( p n q m q n p m ), one can obtain from the relations in (3.18)
that
1
)rs (J pq )sr ,
) pq = 1 (
(S ) pq = (S )rs (J pq )sr .
(3.19)
(
2i
2i
) pq (
)qp , which is the summation over the number index
Then, the quantity (1/8)(
)rs (
)sr , which
(pq) of the Lorentz group generators, can now be rewritten as (1/8)(
can be viewed as the trace of the matrix product.
There are several gauge invariants that are quadratic in curvatures (at least there are three
curvatures: Riemannian curvature, Ricci curvature and scalar curvature). Let us discuss the
first gauge invariant that has been considered in the above:
(1)

Ig =

gL (1) dv,
v

1
8

L (1) = g g ( )rs ( )sr ,

(3.20)

where dv denotes the four-dimensional volume element, and the curvature tensor (gauge
field strength) is
!rs

)rs =
(

i[S , S ]
.
(3.21)
x x
In order to derive the gauge field equation, we should first calculate the variation of the
gravitational Lagrangian density with respect to the spin connection (S )rs :

rs


1
S
(1)

gL
=
g( )sr
i(S S )
2
x
1
=
(A + B),
(3.22)
2

A Spin-connection Gauge Field Theory of Gravitation

51

where the two terms


rs

A = g( )sr
x
(


)

)sr
)sr (S )rs

g(
1 g(
rs
g
(S ) +
=
g
x
x

)sr (S )rs + S.T.

=
g (
(3.23)
and

)sr (S S ) rs
B = i g(

)sr [(S )rt ](S )t s + i g(

)sr (S )rt (S )t s
= i g(

)tr (S )st (S )rs + i g(

)st (S )t r (S )rs
= i g(

]sr (S )rs .
= i g[S ,

(3.24)

In the expression (3.23), S.T. denotes the surface term (total divergence term). Then, A + B
in the variation (3.22) is given by


)sr i[S ,
]sr (S )rs + S.T.
A+B =
g (

)sr (S )rs + S.T..

=
gD (
(3.25)
The second gauge-group invariant that is quadratic in curvature (scalar curvature) is
Z

2

1
(2)
gL (2) dv,
L (2) = er ( )rs es ,
(3.26)
Ig =
8
v


)rs es = ier er R es es , which equals iR. It should be noted that there
where er (
is not such a counterpart (or analogue) in the Lagrangian of the conventional Yang-Mills
gauge theory. However, it deserves consideration since it is really a gauge invariant quantity
quadratic in curvature. The variation of the second Lagrangian density is given by
!rs


1
S S
(2)

gL
= i gR (er es )

i[S , S ]
4
x x




1
(S )rs
r ts

= i gR (er es er es )
i (S ) t (S )
4
x
1
=
(C + D),
(3.27)
2
where the two terms are
(S )rs
1
C = i gR (er es er es )
,
2
x

[ 21 gR (er es er es )]
[ 21 gR (er es er es ) (S )rs ]
rs
= i
(S ) + i
x
x
(
)

1 [ 12 gR (er es er es )]
= i g
(S )rs + S.T.
g
x



1
= i g R (er es er es ) (S )rs + S.T.
(3.28)
2

52

Jian Qi Shen

and


1
gR (er es er es ) (S )r t (S )ts
2
1
1
=
gR (er et er et ) (S )st (S )rs
gR (et es et es ) (S )t r (S )rs
2
2

(3.29)
= gR (et es et es ) (S )t r (S )rs .

D =

By using the relations

1
er = S r = S r ,
i

1
es = Ss = Ss ,
i

(3.30)

the term C can be rewritten as

1
g( R) (er es er es ) (S )rs + i gR( er )es (S )rs
2

+i gR er ( es )(S )rs + S.T.

1
= i
g( R) (er es er es ) (S )rs
2

+ gR et St r es (S )rs er Sst et (S )rs + S.T.

1
= i
g( R) (er es er es ) (S )rs
2

+ gR (et es et es ) (S )t r (S )rs + S.T.,

C = i

(3.31)

where the antisymmetry of es er er es in indices r, s is applied. Obviously, D and the

second term of the result in (3.31) cancel, and the only retained terms are the first term of
the result in (3.31) and the surface term. Therefore, one can arrive at
1
g( R) (er es er es ) (S )rs + S.T.
2



1


= i gD R (er es er es ) (S )rs + S.T.,
2

C+D = i

(3.32)

where D er = 0 and D es = 0 have been substituted.

Hence, the variation of the two gravitational actions is



 1Z 
1
(1)
(2)

g D ( )sr + iD R (er es er es ) (S )rs dv. (3.33)

Ig + Ig
=
2 v
2
If we define a quantity that is antisymmetric in both Greek and Latin indices as follows
(Y )sr =

i
(es er er es ) R,
2

(3.34)

then the variation (3.33) becomes


 1Z 

(1)
(2)
)sr D (Y )sr (S )rs dv.
Ig + Ig
=
g D (
2 v

(3.35)

A Spin-connection Gauge Field Theory of Gravitation

(1)

53

(2)

We shall discuss the actions Ig + Ig : (i) obviously, it is a higher-derivative gravity of

metric (but quadratic in both spin connection and curvature). In the literature, there were
many references which considered the four-derivative gravity (where the dynamical variable is metric, however) [19]. But in our Yang-Mills formulation of gravity, the dynamical
variable is the spin connection instead; (ii) there is a third candidate that is also quadratic
)tr (
)rs es , for constructing the Lagrangian and action. In
in curvature, i.e., g et (
the four-dimensional spacetime, this term can be expressed in terms of the other two candidates: L (1) and L (2) because of the Gauss-Bonnet relation, so that we shall not take it
into consideration in this paper (in the next section we can show that L (1) + L (2) is an ideal
candidate for the gravitational Lagrangian density, which can lead to the Einstein tensor by
means of the formulation of first-integral solution).

3.2.

The Interaction Lagrangian Density

Now we shall consider the interaction Lagrangian density of the matter that is coupled
to gravity. The local Lorentz-group gauge-invariant interaction action and the Lagrangian
density can be constructed as follows
Iint =

gL int dv,

1
2

L int = ( )sr er s ,

(3.36)

where s represents the matter energy-momentum tensor in the formulation of vierbein,

and denotes the coupling coefficient to be determined via the Einstein field equation. We

)sr er s :
shall now analyze the term g(

sr
S

S
sr

) er s =
g(
g

i[S , S ] er s
x x

sr

S
g
=
iS S
(er s er s )
x
= E + F,

(3.37)

where
(S )sr
(er s er s )
x





e )]

g(S )sr (er s er s )

1

[
g
(e
r
s
r
s
sr

= g(S )
+
g
x
x

sr

= g(S ) (er s er s ) + S.T.,

(3.38)

E =

and

sr

F = i g S S (er s er s ) .

(3.39)

We define an antisymmetric tensor (C )rs in terms of both the vierbein and the energymomentum tensor for the matter field:
(C )rs = er s er s ,

(3.40)

54

Jian Qi Shen

which is antisymmetric in the Einstein (local) coordinate indices , . Since the spinconnection covariant derivative of the source tensor (C )rs in the vierbein formulation
is D (C )rs = (C )rs i[S ,C ]rs , the Levi-Civita covariant derivative of (C )rs is
given by
(C )rs = D (C )rs + i[S ,C ]rs
= D (C )rs + i(S )r t (C )ts i(C )r t (S )ts .

(3.41)

By inserting the expression (3.41) into (3.38), the more explicit expression for E can be
obtained:

E = g(S )sr D (C )rs + 2i g(S S )sr (C )rs + S.T.,

(3.42)

)sr er s in (3.37) becomes

and thus, the term g(

E + F = g(S )sr D (C )rs + i g(S S )sr (C )rs + S.T..

(3.43)

For convenience, E + F in (3.43) can be rewritten as the form of matrix trace, since E + F
is a scalar (in the vierbein formulation), and the Lorentz indices in both the gauge field
variable (spin connection) (S )sr and the source tensor (C )rs (these two quantities constitute a scalar) can be considered to be the matrix indices.
The form of the matrix trace

is given by E + F = gTr S D C iS SC
+ S.T.. We assume that the source
C does not contain the spin connection S (this is valid for the scalar matter fields, or
for the macroscopic matter in which the spin is negligibly small). Thus, it is simple to
write down the variation of the interaction action with respect to the spin connection:


as C is antisymmetric
in indices and , one

can have iS SC = iS SC and
R

Iint = (/2) v gTr S D C + iS SC dv. Therefore, Iint is given by

Z




1
Iint =
gTr S C + iC S dv.
(3.44)
2
v





S
By using the relations S C + iC S =
(S ) C
+
iC
+ iSC S ,



where iSC S = iSC S , and Tr SC S = Tr S SC , one can find that

the form for the variation of the interaction action (3.44) is simple:

1
Iint =
2

gTr(S )D C dv.

(3.45)

Obviously, thisR can be rewritten explicitly in terms of the Lorentz coordinate indices as

Iint = (/2) v g(S )rs D (C )sr dv, which will be used below.
Combining all the variations (3.35), (3.45), we can find that the total variations of the
gravitational action as well as the interaction action of the theory are

 1Z 

(1)
(2)
)sr D (Y )sr D (C )sr (S )rs dv. (3.46)
g D (
Ig + Ig + Iint =
2 v

At this stage, it is necessary to define an alternative form for the source tensor
(C )sr =

i
[(C )sr (C )rs ] ,
2

(3.47)

A Spin-connection Gauge Field Theory of Gravitation

55

which is antisymmetric in both the local coordinate indices , and the matrix indices r, s. It
can be verified that (C )sr = i[(es r er s ) (es r er s )]/2, which is Hermitian
for the matrix indices r and s. The variation (3.46) with respect to the spin connection can
then be rewritten as

 1Z 

(1)
(2)
)sr D (Y )sr + iD (C )sr (S )rs dv,
Ig + Ig + Iint =
g D (
2 v
(3.48)
and so that the gravitational field equation in our Yang-Mills type gauge field theory is given
by
D ( )sr D (Y )sr + iD (C )sr = 0.
(3.49)
)sr er s can
It should be pointed out that the Lagrangian density L int = (/2)(
sr

) (C )rs , which apparently preserves the local Lorentzbe rewritten as L int = (/2)(
group gauge symmetry. For the microscopic spinning particles (fields), the energymomentum tensor s unavoidably involves a Yang-Mills type compensating local gauge
field potential (spin connection) of the covariant derivatives. In this case, we should take
into account the nonzero variation of the energy-momentum tensor with respect to the spin
connection. Thus, the form for the variations for the spinning particles (fields) would be
more complicated than that in (3.48). In other words, the result in (3.48) is valid only for
the scalar field matter as well as the matter whose spin is negligibly small.

4.

The Einstein Field Equation Appearing as a First-Integral

Solution

Here we shall show that the Einstein gravitational field equation can be viewed as a firstintegral solution to the spin-connection gauge field equation of gravitation. With the help
)sr = ies R er , one can have
of (


D ( )sr = ies ( R )er = ies R R er .
(4.50)
By using the definition of (Y )sr in (3.34), one can directly obtain

D (Y )sr (S )rs = iD (R er es )(S )rs ,

(4.51)

where the property that (S )rs is antisymmetric in indices r, s is used. D (R er es )(S )rs
can be written as ( R)er es (S )rs = (g R)er es (S )rs . By virtue of the antisymmetric (S )rs (in indices r, s), we obtain D (R er es )(S )rs = (g R)es er (S )rs .
Then it is simple to obtain

1
D (Y )sr (S )rs = i (g R) (g R) er es (S )rs .
2

(4.52)

By using the results of (4.50) and (4.52), we find that the variation of the purely gravitational
Lagrangian density appearing in (3.46) is given by


D ( )sr D (Y )sr (S )rs
 



1
1
= ies R g R R g R er (S )rs .
(4.53)
2
2

56

Jian Qi Shen

Let us now discuss the variation of the interaction term (S )rs D (C )sr . It can be
written explicitly as
(S )rs D (C )sr = (S )rs D (es r es r )
= G + H,

(4.54)

where the term G = (S )rs D (es r ) = (S )rs D es er , which can be rewritten


as G = (1/2)(S )rs es er , and the term H = (S )rs D (es r ) =


(S )rs D es er . Thus, by combining the above results, the variation of the interaction action becomes

Z



1
1

(S )rs dv. (4.55)
Iint =
g es er + D es er
2 v
2

This result can also be obtained based on (3.47) and (3.48).

According to the results (4.53) and (4.55), we can directly arrive at


(1)
(2)
Ig + Ig + Iint

 
Z
1
1
1

=
i
ges R g R + i
2 v
2
2


1
1
R g R + i er (S )rs dv
2
2
Z



1
gD es er (S )rs dv.
(4.56)
+
2 v


(1)
(2)
By using the least action principle Ig + Ig + Iint = 0, one can conjecture that the
following equations hold:


1
1
R g R = , R g R = , D es er = 0,
(4.57)
2
2


where D es er es er . We have assumed that the coupling constant = 2i.
It is clearly seen that the first and second equations are in fact the first-integral solutions,
which are exactly the same as the Einstein field equation of GR, and that the third is the
equation of conservation law of the energy-momentum tensor. Let us consider whether the
third equation in Eq. (4.57) is consistent with the two first-integral solutions. It follows
from (4.56) that the variation of the total actions is given by


(1)
(2)
Ig + Ig + Iint





Z
i
1

g es R g R + es er (r s) (S )rs dv,
=
2 v
2
(4.58)
where (r s) represents the other term in which one interchanges r with s. This, therefore,
implies that the field equation is


1
es R g R er + es er (r s) = 0.
(4.59)
2

A Spin-connection Gauge Field Theory of Gravitation

57

This is a gravitational field equation derived from the spin-connection Yang-Mills version
of gravitation. We can see that the Einstein equation has been involved
in this equation:


specifically, from Eq. (4.59), one can get R 12 g R + g (
) = 0. Obviously, this equation can yield


1

R g R + g = 0.
(4.60)
2
By contracting with in Eq. (4.60), one can obtain + D = 0, i.e.,
(D 1) = 0, where D denotes the dimension number of spacetime. This means
that the divergence of the energy-momentum tensor vanishes,
i.e., = 0. Eq. (4.59)


is then reduced to the form R g R/2 = 0. Thus, we have indicated
that all the equations in (4.57) can truly be derived from the least action principle. Besides, the following first-integral solution to the above equation can be obtained directly:
R g R/2 = g , which has exactly the same form as the Einstein field equation of gravitation, where g can be considered to be an equivalent cosmological term,
and is an equivalent cosmological constant. On the
other hand, by raising the index
in Eq. (4.60), we can obtain R g R/2 + g = 0. By contracting with , it is simple to arrive at + = 0, i.e., ( ) = 0.
This requires that = 0 ( is symmetric in its indices) or can be written explicitly in terms of the Levi-Civita totally skew-symmetric tensor, e.g., =
(1/2) ( ) with a certain covariant vector. As = , the

torsion-free covariant divergence is ( ) = (1/ g) ( g ). Note

that = (1/ g) , where denotes the contravariant Levi-Civita tensor density of weight W = +1. We can then show that the covariant divergence is of the form

(1/ g) = 0. In general, = is preferred, since the Ricci curvature

tensor R is symmetric in the torsion-free gravity theory. However, the asymmetric
is possible in the gravity theory with torsion. This problem deserves consideration in the
version of spin-connection gravitational gauge field theory with torsion.
We have constructed both the gravitational Lagrangian density and the interaction Lagrangian density for the present spin-connection gravitational gauge field theory. It can
be easily seen that the total
Lagrangian densities can be rewritten as L (1) + L (2) + L int =


(1/8) R R + R2 + R . If the cosmological constant term is taken into account, i.e., the energy-momentum tensor is replaced with + (/)g , then L int =
R + R. However, the term R in the Lagrangian density makes no gravitational contributions to the gravitational gauge field equation, e.g., Eqs. (3.49) and (4.59) because R
is a linear (or first power) function of the spin connection (it is the spin connection that is the

dynamical variable of gravitation), and gR can be rewritten as a surface term, if is

a constant. Though the effect of the cosmological constant due to quantum vacuum fluctuation or dark energy disappears in the spin-connection gravitational gauge field equation,
yet an integration constant that can serve as an effective cosmological constant appears
in the first-integral solution, and this leads to a new insight to the physical meanings of
cosmological constant. This problem will be discussed in more details in the next section.
In order to close this section, let us briefly discuss the nature of the matter energymomentum tensor . Obviously, is not simply a canonical energy-momentum tensor

m of the free Lagrangian density of the matter (m is not a conserved one, i.e., m 6= 0

58

Jian Qi Shen

as there exists the interaction Lagrangian density L int ). It is = m + int that is a con
served energy-momentum tensor, where int is the canonical energy-momentum tensor due

to the interaction Lagrangian density L int . As int results from L int , and L int also con
tains int , it would be somewhat difficult to determine the explicit expression for the matter
energy-momentum tensor . In order to derive such an energy-momentum tensor, we will
consider a toy model, in which a scalar matter field interacting with the gravitational field
is a gravitating source of gravity, and we will also introduce a heavy intermediate coupling
field whose low-energy propagator would lead to the Newtonian gravitational constant. The
problem as to how the heavy intermediate field is introduced would be resolved in the future
work, which will be published elsewhere.

5.

Discussions: the Connection Between Gravity and Gauge

Fields, and a New Insight into the Cosmological Constant

In the preceding sections, we did not take the particle (matter) spins into consideration
(i.e., we assumed that the gravitating matter is a scalar field), so that the energy-momentum
tensor does not involve the spin connection. In this formalism, the gauge field equation we
obtained can have the first-integral solutions, one of which is the Einstein field equation.
For the spinning particles (matter fields), however, the covariant derivatives in the energymomentum tensor contain the spin connection, and the Yang-Mills type gravitational field
equation derived would have no such first-integral solutions. This, therefore, means that
the Einstein field equation is a macroscopic form of the spin-connection gauge theory of
gravitation, in which the spin of the matter field can be neglected. But in the micro-world,
where the particle spins would dominate in gravitational interactions, the interaction term
associated with the spin-gravity coupling [20, 21] would yield in the Yang-Mills type field
equation of gravitation and then the new terms should be added to the dynamics of Einstein
gravity.
We have derived the Einstein equation that serves as a first-integral solution to the YangMills type gravitational field equation. At this stage, it is convenient to discuss the physical
meanings of the Einstein field equation obtained in the preceding section. Here, the Einstein
field equation is derived in a way that is completely different from the conventional means
where one starts from the Hilbert-Einstein Lagrangian and determines the variation of the
action with respect to the metric tensor. Here, instead, we have suggested a spin-connection
Yang-Mills gauge field theory and presented a gauge field equation (3.49) or its alternative
form (4.59), and then derived the Einstein field equation as its first-integral solution (the
zero-spin matter field is assumed). As is well known, the Einstein equation is the most
essential in GR. In our spin-connection gauge field theory (with local Lorentz-group gauge
invariance), however, it is Eq. (3.49), or (4.59) and (4.60) is most essential, and the Einstein
equation is one of the special cases of Eqs. (3.49) and (4.60). It can be easily seen that there
are other various first-integral solutions to Eqs. (3.49) and (4.60). Since, for example, the
spin-connection covariant derivative of es er er es vanishes, i.e., D (es er er es )
0, it follows from Eq. (3.49) that the following form
)sr (Y )sr + i(C )sr = (es er er es )
(

(5.61)

A Spin-connection Gauge Field Theory of Gravitation

59

is also a first-integral solution, where is a constant coefficient.

Let us now look at the cosmological constant problem from the new aspects based on
the gravitational gauge field equation (3.49) or (4.60). The cosmological constant in GR
can be interpreted as the energy density of quantum vacuum fluctuation field or dark energy
(quintessence). In an attempt to explain the accelerated expansion [1] of the Universe on
the basis of GR and modern cosmology, we meet, however, with difficulties arising from
the problem of nonzero but small cosmological constant [15]. Though a number of authors
suggested many theories to reveal the possible physical origins of the cosmological constant and to interpret its small value [15, 16, 22], yet no satisfactory mechanisms have been
accepted by the community of physics. We argue that all the preceding mechanisms for
interpreting the cosmological constant problem were proposed based on the Einstein field
equation or the modified Einstein field equation (including the alternative theories, where
the physical essence of the main ideas is similar to those based on the Hilbert-Einstein Lagrangian with the metric being the dynamical variable) [16]. Here we shall propose an alternative viewpoint about the physical meanings of the cosmological constant, and provide
an insight into the cosmological constant problem. As our spin-connection Yang-Mills type
gravitational field equation is an equation of third-order derivative of the metric, the cosmological constant term appears as the form of its covariant derivative, which unavoidably
vanishes, and this implies that the cosmological constant resulting from the quantum vacuum energy density or the dark energy density actually makes no gravitational contributions
in the Yang-Mills type gravitational field equation, as has been pointed out in the preceding
section. But once we derive the first-integral solution (i.e., the Einstein field equation) from
the spin-connection Yang-Mills type gravitational field equation, an equivalent cosmological constant that appears as an integration constant yields. If the present spin-connection
gravitational field equation can be considered a candidate for governing the gravitational
interactions, then it is no less reasonable to believe that the cosmological constant (now it is
, rather than ) in the Einstein field equation would actually be neither a measure of quantum vacuum energy density nor the dark energy density. Instead, it is merely an integration
constant of the first-integral solution. Then a question would be suggested: how can one
determine the integration constant from the present formulation of gravitation? As is well
known, an integration constant appearing in a solution is always determined by the boundary condition (or the initial condition, and so on) of the problem itself. Thus, the idea that
we view the cosmological constant as an integration constant would naturally interpret the
observed cosmological constant value that is close to the critical density [1]). As an integration constant (to be determined by the practical conditions of the gravitating system under
consideration), is supposed to be related to the large-scale structures of the Universe. As
has the dimension of [L2 ], we could assume that = 1/L2 , where L denotes a certain
typical length scale of the cosmos. Therefore, the effective vacuum energy (or dark energy) density corresponding to the equivalent cosmological constant is = c2 /(8G),
i.e. c2 /(8GL2 ). On the other hand, the critical density c = 3H 2 /(8G) with H the Hubble constant at the present epoch. It can also be rewritten as c = 3c2 /(8GR2H ), where RH
denotes the Hubble length [23]. It is believed that the characteristic cosmic scale L (such as
the size of the horizon) has the same order of magnitude as that of RH (for example, the size
of the horizon is 2RH in the matter-dominated universe). Thus, as obtained in astrophysical
observations [1], the effective vacuum energy (or dark energy) density is now close

60

Jian Qi Shen

to the critical density c . Of course, the present mechanism is merely a rough idea, which
needs to be improved, particularly for establishing the relation between the cosmic scale L
and the Hubble length RH (in the literature, for example, Hoyle et al. in their steady-state
model for the expanding universe obtained a cosmological term that is 3H 2 g /c2 [24],
which provides us with a possible theoretical foundation for the above scheme). As there
have been a large number of theories existing in the literature for attempting to resolve the
cosmological constant problem [17, 22, 25, 26, 27], our viewpoint about this problem would
be one of such candidates. But since it interprets the problem by means of new dynamical
equations with new dynamical variables, in the future, we need to develop this mechanism
with more reliable analysis based on more authentic theoretical evidences (including the
validity of the spin-connection gravitational gauge field theory).

6.

Concluding Remarks

Since GR had been formulated in a non-Yang-Mills language version, in order to reformulate the Einstein gravity, we have considered the gravitational gauge symmetry in the
vierbein formulation for the Local Lorentz-group gauge field, and have suggested a new Lagrangian of the spin-connection gauge theory of gravitation, and then presented a new YangMills type field equation, in which the Einstein field equation appears as a first-integral
solution. If the local inertial frame coordinate indices (Latin indices) are viewed as the matrix indices of the Lorentz group generators, then the spin-affine connection spontaneously
agrees with the local Yang-Mills gauge transformation. Clearly, the spin connection can
now be viewed as a Yang-Mills connection. As the spin connection can be expressed in
terms of the gravitational vierbein fields, we can conclude that the traditional Yang-Mills
connection could also be expressed in terms of the so-called Yang-Mills vielbein (in four dimensions we would call it a vierbein) that is constructed on a Yang-Mills gauge (Lie) group
manifold [28]. Thus, a GR-type theory for the Yang-Mills field can also be suggested. It
can then be believed that both the gravitational metric field and the Yang-Mills gauge field
can be reformulated as the vielbein fields. This offers an insight into a possible route to
unify these two gauge fields based on the generalized vielbein fields that may be a composite object containing both the gravitational vielbein fields and the Yang-Mills vielbein
fields.
From the spin-connection gauge field theory, we can obtain a theoretical cosmological
constant (boundary or initial condition-dependent integration constant) that can be close to
the observed value [1]. Hence, the cosmological constant problem (why the gravitational
effect of the expected large quantum vacuum energy density cannot be observed in the
cosmic expansion process, why the observed cosmological constant is nonzero but small,
and why it is close to the critical density and hence would depend on the cosmic length
scale) would no longer exist in the present Yang-Mills type gravity theory, and as a byproduct, the concept of dark energy might be excluded in this scheme (since there is an
equivalent cosmological constant, i.e., the integration constant that can be used to represent
the contribution of the so-called dark energy and to interpret the accelerated expansion of
the Universe). We hope that this idea for the origin of the equivalent cosmological constant
would be developed and explored in more details both theoretically and experimentally.
We have considered the gravitational gauge field equation with the scalar fields being

A Spin-connection Gauge Field Theory of Gravitation

61

the source, and concentrated our attention only on the tensor representation for the local
Lorentz group. Apparently, it is of interest to consider its spinor representation. In the
spinor representation, the same gravitational Lagrangian as those constructed in this paper
can also be obtained. However, the additional terms for the spin-gravity coupling would
be included in the interaction Lagrangian. The spin-connection gravitational field produced
by the spinning particles surely deserves consideration. This would yield the gravitational
contribution of spin in the spin-connection gauge field equation. Historically, Cartan generalized the Riemannian geometry and studied the torsion whose source is the spin of matter
(fields and particles) [29]. This is one of the ways for considering the gravitational effects
of spin. In this paper we were concerned only with the curvature-only torsion-free theory
that has nothing to do with the topic of spin and torsion. In the spinor representation
for the local Lorentz group, compared with Cartans Riemann-Cartan gravity, our approach
can be considered to be another way to include the spin contribution to gravity into the
gravitational field equation. But it is still interesting for us to extend the spin-connection
gauge field theory in the pure-curvature torsion-free framework to that in the framework
of Riemann-Cartan geometry. One of such gravity theories with torsion is the Riemannian
geometry with complex Hermitian metric. In the Yang-Mills Lie-group manifold [28], such
a complex Hermitian metric can really be easily defined by using the so-called YangMills vielbein fields. Then the generalization of the pure-curvature spin-connection gauge
theory of gravitation to the torsion case with complex metric is necessary if one attempts
to deal with the problem of unification of gravity and Yang-Mills gauge interactions inside
the framework of the vielbein fields that include both the gravitational vierbeins and the
Yang-Mills vielbeins.

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