‘Third’ Quantization of Vacuum Einstein Gravity and Free Yang-Mills Theories

Certain pivotal results from various applications of Abstract Differential Geometry (ADG) to gravity and gauge theories are presently collected and used to argue that we already possess a geometrically (pre)quantized, second quantized and manifestly background spacetime manifold independent vacuum Einstein gravitational field dynamics. The arguments carry also mutatis mutandis to the case of free Yang-Mills theories, since from the ADG-theoretic perspective gravity is regarded as another gauge field theory. The powerful algebraico-categorical, sheaf cohomological conceptual and technical machinery of ADG is then employed, based on the fundamental ADG-theoretic conception of a field as a pair (E ,D) consisting of a vector sheaf E and an algebraic connection D acting categorically as a sheaf morphism on E ’s local sections, to introduce a ‘universal’, because expressly functorial, field quantization scenario coined third quantization. Although third quantization is fully covariant, on intuitive and heuristic grounds alone it formally appears to follow a canonical route; albeit, in a purely algebraic and, in contradistinction to geometric (pre)quantization and (canonical) second quantization, manifestly background geometrical spacetime manifold independent fashion, as befits ADG. All in all, from the ADG-theoretic vantage, vacuum Einstein gravity and free Yang-Mills theories are regarded as external spacetime manifold unconstrained, third quantized, pure gauge field theories. The paper abounds with philosophical smatterings and speculative remarks about the potential import and significance of our results to current and future Quantum Gravity research. A postscript gives a brief account of this author’s personal encounters with Rafael Sorkin and his work. PACS numbers: 04.60.-m, 04.20.Gz, 04.20.-q