Introduction to the Effective Field Theory

Description of Gravity
arXiv:gr-qc/9512024v1 11 Dec 1995

John F. Donoghue

Department of Physics and Astronomy

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003

Abstract
This is a pedagogical introduction to the treatment of general rel-
ativity as a quantum effective field theory. Gravity fits nicely into the
effective field theory description and forms a good quantum theory at
ordinary energies.

Lectures presented at the Advanced School on Effective Theories, Al-

munecar, Spain June 1995 (to be published in the proceedings). UMHEP-
424, gr-qc/9512024

0
1 Introduction
The conventional wisdom is that general relativity and quantum mechanics
are presently incompatible. Of the “four fundamental forces” gravity is said
to be different because a quantum version of the theory does not exist. We feel
less satisfied with the theory of gravity and exclude it from being recognized
as a full member of the Standard Model. Part of the trouble is that we
have tried to unnaturally force gravity into the mold of renormalizable field
theories. In the old way of thinking, only the class of renormalizable field
theories were considered workable quantum theories. For this reason, general
relativity was considered a failure as a quantum field theory. However we
now think differently about renormalizability. So-called non-renormalizable
theories can be renormalized if treated in a general enough framework, and
they are not inconsistent with quantum mechanics[1]. In the framework of
effective field theories[2], the effects of quantum physics can be analyzed
and reliable predictions can be made. We will see that in this regard the
conventional wisdom about gravity is not correct; quantum predictions can
be made.
The key point of effective field theory is the separation of known physics
at the scale that we are working from unknown physics at much higher en-
ergies. Experience has shown that as we go to higher energies, new degrees
of freedom and new interactions come into play. We have no reason to sus-
pect that the effects of our present theory are the whole story at the highest
energies. Effective field theory allows us to make predictions at present en-
ergies without making unwarranted assumptions about what is going on at
high energies. In addition, whatever the physics of high energy really is,
it will leave residual effects at low energy in the form of highly suppressed
non-renormalizable interactions. These can be treated without disrupting
the low energy theory. The use of effective field theory is not limited to
non-renormalizable theories. Even renormalizable theories benefit from this
paradigm. For example, there are the well-known divergences in all field the-
ories. If these divergences were really and truly infinite, the manipulations
that we do with them would be nonsense. However we do not believe that our
calculations of these divergences are really correct, and if our theory is only
a low energy effective field theory of the ultimate finite theory of everything,
the manipulations are perfectly reasonable with the end predictions being
independent of the physics at very high scales. Our feeling of the reality of

1
the radiative corrections has also convinced many that it is most natural if
the present Standard Model is an effective theory which breaks down at the
TeV scale, where Higgs self-interactions would otherwise become unnaturally
large. We have even found it useful in Heavy Quark Effective Theory to con-
vert a renormalizable theory into a non-renormalizable one in order to more
efficiently display the relevant degrees of freedom and interactions.
In the case of gravity, we feel that the low energy degrees of freedom and
interactions are those of general relativity. It would be a surprise if these
could not be treated quantum mechanically. To be sure, radiative correc-
tions appear to involve all energies, but this is a problem that the effective
field theory formalism handles automatically. We will see that gravity very
naturally fits into the framework of effective field theory[3]. In fact it is
potentially even a better effective theory than the Standard Model as the
quantum corrections are very small and the theory shows no hint of a break-
down before the Planck scale. If we insist on treating general relativity as
the isolated fundamental theory even at very high energies, there will be the
usual problems at high energy. However, the main point is that we can use
the degrees of freedom that we have at ordinary energies to make quantum
calculations relevant for those scales.
In these lecture notes, I will briefly review the structure of general rela-
tivity and its status as a classical effective field theory. Then I discuss the
quantization of the theory, following the work of ’t Hooft and Veltman[4]. The
methodology of effective field theory is explained in regards to the renormal-
ization of the theory and the extraction of low energy quantum predictions. I
describe the example of the gravitational interaction of two heavy masses to
illustrate the method[3,5]. Some unique features of the gravitational effective
theory are briefly mentioned.

2 Basic Structure of General Relativity

Since this is a school primarily for particle physicists, I need to briefly re-
view general relativity[6,7]. This also allows us to specify our notation and
make a few preliminary comments which are relevant for the effective field
theory treatment. When a field theorist describes the ingredients of general
relativity, it is interesting to see how much the description differs from that
of conventional relativists. Below is a minimalist field theoretic presentation

2
of the structure of the theory.
Lorentz invariance is a global coordinate change which leaves the
Minkowski metric tensor invariant.

x′µ = Λµν xν
ηµν = Λαµ Λβν ηαβ

ηµν = diag(1, −1, −1, −1)

dτ 2 = ηµν dx′µ dx′ν = ηαβ dxα dxβ (1)

Fields transform as scalars, vectors, etc., under this change

φ′ (x′ ) = φ(x)
A′µ (x′ ) = Λµν Aν (x) (2)

This can be made into a local coordinate change

x′µ = x′µ (x)

dx′µ = Λµν (x)dxν
Λ̄µν (x) ≡ [Λµν (x)]−1
Λµν Λ̄ρν = δρµ (3)

but only if the metric is allowed to be a coordinate dependent field trans-

forming as

′
gµν (x′ ) = Λ̄µα Λ̄νβ gαβ (x)
dτ 2 = gµν
′
(x′ )dx′µ dx′ν = gαβ (x)dxα dxβ (4)

with inverse g µν

g µν (x)gνρ (x) = δρµ (5)

Scalar and vector fields are now defined with the properties

3
 φ′ (x′ ) = φ(x)
A′µ (x′ ) = Λµν (x)Aν (x) (6)
A covariant derivative can be defined with the right transformation property
(i.e., Dµ′ Aλ = Λ̄µν Λλσ Dν Aσ ) by

Dµ Aλ = ∂µ Aλ + Γλµν Aν (7)
where the connection Γλµν is defined as
1
Γλµν = g λσ [∂µ gσν + ∂ν gσµ − ∂σ gµν ] (8)
2
It is important for the effective theory that the connection involves one deriva-
tive of the metric (Γ ∼ ∂g).
Similarly we can define tensor and scalar fields, the curvatures, which
depend only on two derivatives of the metric

[Dµ , Dν ]Aα ≡ Rβαµν Aβ

Rβαµν = ∂µ Γβαν − ∂ν Γβαµ + Γλαν Γβλµ − Γλαµ Γβλν

Rαµ ≡ Rλαµλ
R ≡ g αµ Rαµ (9)
The curvature is nonlinear in the field gµν . Despite the similarity to the
construction of the field strength tensor of Yang Mills field theory, there is
the important difference that the curvatures involve two derivatives of the
basic field (R ∼ ∂∂g).
It is easy to construct an action for the matter fields which is invariant
under the general coordinate transformation, simply by modifying the usual
Lagrangian to use covariant derivatives and to raise and lower Lorentz indices
with gµν (x). In addition, if we want the metric to be a dynamical field we
need an action involving derivatives on the metric. The simplest invariant
function is the scalar curvature so that one would postulate
√ 2
Z
Sg = d4 x g 2 R (10)
κ

4
with κ2 presently an unknown constant. We will return to this step in the
next section. Variation of the full action leads to Einstein’s Equation

1
Rµν − gµν R = −8πGTµν
2
√ µν ∂ √
gT ≡ −2 ( gLm ) (11)
∂gµν

where Lm is the Lagrange density for matter, and T µν is the corresponding

energy momentum tensor, and κ2 ≡ 32πG. By investigating solutions to this
equation, it can be seen to describe Newtonian gravity in the appropriate
limit if G is identified as the Cavendish constant.
In this summary, invariance requirements take precedence over geometri-
cal ideas and indeed the fact that this is a good theory for gravity appears
only at the end of this construction.
We will use a few other facts of general relativity which deserves to be
mentioned in this section. In the weak field limit we can expand the metric
around Minkowski space introducing the dynamical part of the metric as hµν

gµν ≡ ηµν + κhµν (exactly)

g µν = η µν − κhµν + κ2 hµλ hλν + . . . (12)

The weak field gauge invariance is given by

x′µ = xµ + ǫµ (x) ǫ << 1

hµν′ (x′ ) = hµν (x) − ∂µ ǫν − ∂ν ǫµ (13)

and the curvatures are

κh i
Rµν = ∂µ ∂ν hλλ + ∂λ ∂ λ hµν − ∂µ ∂λ hλν − ∂λ ∂ν hλµ + O(h2 )
2h i
R = κ 2hλλ − ∂µ ∂ν hµν + O(h2 ) (14)

where indices are raised and lowered with ηµν . This can equally well be done
around any fixed smooth background space time metric.

5
 The Greens function does not exist without a gauge choice and it is most
convenient to use harmonic gauge
1
∂ λ hµλ = ∂µ hλλ (15)
2
which reduces Einstein’s Equation in the weak field limit to
1
 
2hµν = −16πG Tµν − ηµν T λλ (16)
2
This has the solution for a static point mass of
GM
 
hµν = diag(1, 1, 1, 1) 2 (17)
r
There are also plane wave solutions. These satisfy

Rµν = 0 = 2hµν (18)

resulting in

hµν = Nǫµν e−ip·x + h.c. (19)

with p2 = 0. The harmonic gauge choice plus residual gauge freedom can
reduce the polarization vector to two transverse traceless degrees of freedom
appropriate for a massless spin two degrees of freedom.
The gravity waves also carry energy and momentum; hence gravity is
nonlinear. The energy momentum tensor of the gravity waves simplifies a
bit in harmonic gauge and can be put in the form

1 1
Tµν = − hαβ ∂µ ∂ν hαβ + h∂µ ∂ν h
4 8
1 1
 
αβ
+ ηµν h 2hαβ − h2h
8 2
1 
− hµρ 2hρν + hνρ 2hρµ − hµν 2h
4
1 1 1 1
   
αβ αβ
+ ∂µ ∂ν hαβ h − hh − ηµν 2 hαβ h − hh
8 2 16 2
1 h n o n oi
− ∂α ∂ν hµβ hαβ + ∂µ hνβ hαβ
4

6
 1 h i
+ ∂α hαβ (∂ν hµβ + ∂µ hνβ ) (20)
2
with h ≡ hλλ . In this form only the first term contributes to the forward
matrix element of a physical transverse traceless mode.

3 Classical Effective Field Theory

Let us revisit a crucial step in the derivation of general relativity. What
is the rationale for choosing the gravitational action proportional to R and
only R? It is not due to any symmetry and, unlike other theories, cannot be
argued on the basis of renormalizability. However physically the curvature is
small so that in most applications R2 terms would be yet smaller. This leads
to a rationale based on classical effective field theory.
There are in fact infinitely many terms allowed by general coordinate
invariance, i.e.,

√ 2
Z  
S= d4 x g Λ + 2 R + c1 R2 + c2 Rµν Rµν + . . . + Lmatter (21)
κ
Here the gravitational Lagrangians have been ordered in a derivative expan-
sion with Λ being of order ∂ 0 , R of order ∂ 2 , R2 and Rµν Rµν of order ∂ 4 etc.
Note that in four dimensions we do not need to include a term Rµναβ Rµναβ
as the Gauss Bonnet theorem allows this contribution to the action to be
written in terms of R2 and Rµν Rµν .
The first term in Eq.21 , i.e., Λ, is related to the cosmological constant,
λ = −8πGΛ, with Einstein’s equation becoming
1
Rµν − gµν R = −8πGTµν − λgµν (22)
2
This is a term which in principle should be included, but cosmology bounds
| λ |< 10−56 cm−2 , | Λ |< 10−46 GeV 4 so that this constant is unimportant at
ordinary energies[8]. We then set Λ = 0 from now on.
In contrast, the R2 terms are able to be shown to be unimportant in a
natural way. Let us drop Lorentz indices in order to focus on the important
elements, which are the numbers of derivatives. A R + R2 Lagrangian

7
 2
L= 2
R + cR2 (23)
κ
has an equation of motion which is of the form

2h + κ2 c2 22h = 8πGT (24)

The Greens function for this wave equation has the form

d4 q eiq·x
Z
G(x) =
(2π)4 q 2 + κ2 cq 4
d4 q
" #
1 1
Z
= 4 2
− 2 2
e−iq·x (25)
(2π) q q + 1/κ c

The second term appears like a massive scalar, but with the wrong overall
sign, and leads to a short-ranged Yukawa potential
 √ 
κ2 c
1 e−r/
V (r) = −Gm1 m2  − . (26)
r r
The exact form has been worked out by Stelle[9], who gives the experimental
bounds c1 , c2 < 1074 . Hence, if ci were a reasonable number √ there would be
no effect on any observable physics. [Note that if c ∼ 1, κ2 c ∼ 10−35 m].
Basically the curvature is so small that R2 terms are irrelevant at ordinary
scales.
As a slightly technical aside, in an effective field theory we should not
treat the R2 terms to all orders, as is done above in the exponential of the
Yukawa solution, but only include the first corrections in κ2 c. This is because
at higher orders in κ2 c we would also be sensitive to yet higher terms in the
effective Lagrangian (R3 , R4 √etc.) so that we really do not know the full
r → 0 behavior. Rather, for κ2 c small we can note the Yukawa potential
becomes a representation of a delta function
√
2
e−r/ κ c
→ 4πκ2 cδ 3 (~r) (27)
r
Alternatively in the Greens function we could note that

8
 1 1
= 2 − κ2 c + · · · (28)
q2 2
+ κ cq 4 q
and that the Fourier transform of a constant is a delta function. Either way,
one is lead to a form of the potential
1
 
V (r) = −Gm1 M2 + 128π 2 G(c1 − c2 )δ 3 (~x) (29)
r
R2 terms in the Lagrangian lead to a very weak and short range modification
to the gravitational interaction.
Thus when treated as a classical effective field theory, we can start with
the more general Lagrangian, and find that only the effect of the Einstein
action, R, is visible in any test of general relativity. We need not make any
unnatural restrictions on the Lagrangian to exclude R2 and Rµν Rµν terms.
J. Simon[10] has shown that the standard problems with classical R + R2
gravity are not problems when one restricts onself to the low energy domain
appropriate for an effective field theory.

4 Quantization
There is a beautiful and simple formalism for the quantization of gravity.
The most attractive variant combines the covariant quantization pioneered by
Feynman and De Witt[11] with the background field method[12] introduced
in this context by ’t Hooft and Veltman[4]. The quantization of a gauge
theory always involves fixing a gauge. This can in principle cause trouble
if this procedure then induces divergences which can not be absorbed in
the coefficients of the most general Lagrangian which displays the gauge
symmetry. The background field method solves this problem because the
calculation retains the symmetry under transformations of the background
field and therefor the loop expansion will be gauge invariant, retaining the
symmetries of general relativity.
Consider the expansion of the metric about a smooth background field
ḡµν (x),

gµν (x) = ḡµν (x) + κhµν (30)

9
Indices are now raised and lowered with ḡ. The Lagrangian may be expanded
in the quantum field hµν [4,13].

2√ √ 2 (1) (2)

gR = ḡ 2 R̄ + Lg + Lg + · · ·
κ2 κ
h µν
h i
L(1)
g = ḡ µν
R̄ − 2 R̄ µν
κ
1 1
L(2)
g = Dα hµν D α hµν − Dα hDα h + Dα hDβ hαβ (31)
2 2 
1 1

−Dα hµβ D β hµα + R̄ h2 − hµν hµν

2 2
µν λ
+R̄ 2h µ hνα − hhµν

Here Dα is a covariant derivative with respect to the background field. The

total set of terms linear in hµν (including those from the matter Lagrangian)
will vanish if ḡµν satisfies Einstein’s equation. We are then left with a
quadratic Lagrangian plus interaction terms of higher order.
However, the quadratic Lagrangian cannot be quantized without gauge
fixing and the associated Feynman-DeWitt-Fadeev-Popov ghost fields[11,14].
Let us briefly recall the logic, which is the same as for the quantization of
Yang Mills theories[14,15]. The path integral overcounts fields which are
equivalent under a gauge transformation and we need to divide out extra
gauge copies. Carrying out the procedure leads to a path integral
∂Gα iS
Z
Z= dhµν δ(Gα (h))det | |e (32)
∂ǫβ
where Gα (h) is the gauge constraint to be imposed and ∂G α
∂ǫβ
refers to the
variation of the constraint under infinitesimal gauge transformation as in
Eq.13 . Exponentiation of δ(Gµ (h)) leads to the addition of a gauge fixing
term, Lgf , to the quadratic Lagrangian. Exponentiation of det | ∂G ∂ǫ
| by
introducing new fermion fields and using
Z R
d4 xη̄M η
detM = dηdη̄ei (33)
brings in the ghost Lagrangian and completes the procedure of producing a
quadratic Lagrangian with gauge fixing.

10
 In this case, we would like to impose the harmonic gauge constraint in
the background field, and can choose the constraint[4]
√ 1
 
α ν
G = 4
g D hµν − Dµ hλλ tνα (34)
2
where

ηαβ tµα tνβ = ḡ µν (35)

This leads to the gauge fixing Lagrangian[4]
√  ν 1

1

Lgf = ḡ D hµν − Dµ hλλ Dσ hµσ − D µ hσσ (36)
2 2
Because the gauge constraint contains a free Lorentz index, as does the gauge
transformation variable ǫβ , the ghost field will carry a Lorentz label, i.e., they
will be fermionic vector fields. After a bit of work the ghost Lagrangian is
found to be
√ h i
Lgh = ḡη ∗µ Dλ D λ ḡµν − Rµν η ν (37)
The full quantum action is then of the form

Z
√ 2 1
S = d s ḡ 2 R̄ − hαβ D αβ,γδ hγδ
4

n
κ 2o o
+η ∗µ
Dλ D ḡµν − R̄µν η ν + O(h3 )
λ
(38)

with D αβ,γδ an invertible differential operator formed using Eq.31 and Eq.36.
This can then be used to define the propagator and the Feynman rules in a
straightforward fashion.
Despite the conceptual simplicity, explicit formulas in gravity have a no-
tational complexity due to the proliferations of Lorentz indices. Around flat
space, the momentum space propagator is relatively simple in this gauge

i
iDµναβ = Pµν,αβ
q2 + iǫ
1
Pµν,αβ ≡ [ηµα ηνβ + ηµβ ηνα − ηµν ηαβ ] (39)
2

11
The coupling to matter of the one graviton and two graviton vertices are
respectively

iκ  ′ 
τµν = − pµ pν + p′µ pν − gµν [p · p′ − m2 ]
2
iκ2 n  
τηλ,ρσ = Iηλ,αδ I δβ,ρσ pα p′β + p′α pβ
2
1
− (ηηλ Iρσ,αβ + ηρσ Iηλ,αβ ) p′α pβ
2
1 1
 
′ 2
− Iηλ,ρσ − ηηλ ηρσ [p · p − m ] (40)
2 2
with
1
Iµν,αβ ≡ [ηµα ηνβ + ηµβ ηνα ] (41)
2
The energy momentum tensor for gravitons leads to the interaction of gravi-
tons with an external field which, with the harmonic gauge fixing, is of the
form

iκ 3
  
µν
ταβ,γδ = Pαβ,γδ k µ k ν + (k − q)µ (k − q)ν + q µ q ν − η µν q 2
2 h
2 i
+2qλ qσ I αβ I γδ + I γδ I αβ − I αβ I γδ − I σν,αβ I λµ,γδ
λσ, µν, λσ, µν, λµ, σν,

h    
+ qλ q µ ηαβ I µν,γδ + ηγδ I λν,αβ + qλ q ν ηαβ I λµ,γδ + ηγδ I λµ,αβ
  i
−q 2 ηαβ I µν,γδ + ηγδ I µν,αβ − η µν q λ q σ (ηαβ Iγδ,λσ + ηγδ Iαβ,λσ )
h 
+ 2q λ I σν,αβ Iγδ,λσ (k − q)µ + I σµ,
‘ αβ Iγδ,λσ (k − q)
ν

−I σν,γδ Iαβ,λσ k µ − I σµ,αβ,λσ k ν
   i
+q 2 I σµ,αβ Iγδ,σ ν + Iαβ,σν I σν,αδ + η µν q λ qsigma Iαβ,λρ I ρσ,γδ + Iγδ,λρ I ρσ,αβ
1
  
+ k 2 + (k − q)2 I σµ,αβ Iγδ,σ ν + I σν,αβ Iγδ,σ µ − η µν Pαβ,γδ
 o
2
2 µν, 2 µν,
− k ηγδ I αβ + (k − q) ηαβ I γδ (42)

As a simple example of the use of these Feynman rules, consider the

interaction of two heavy masses. This is written as

12
 1
M = τµν (q)D µν,αβ (q)ταβ (q) (43)
2
Taking the nonrelativistic limit pν ∼ (m, ~0), and accounting for the normal-
ization of the states leads us to
1 1 m1 m2
M = 4πG 2 (44)
2m1 2m2 q
which leads to the usual potential energy function.
m1 m2
V (r) = −G (45)
r
Of course, this is a classical result which did not require us to go through the
quantization procedure. True quantum effects will be discussed later.

5 Quantum Effective Field Theory-Overview

While the quantization of gravity proceeds in an almost identical fashion to
that of Yang Mills theory, it is what happens next which has been trouble-
some for gravity. Because of the dimensionful coupling κ and the nonlinear
interactions to all orders in hµν , gravity does not belong to the class of renor-
malizable field theories. As we will see, loop diagrams generate divergences
which cannot be absorbed in only a renormalization of G, but require increas-
ing numbers of renormalized parameters with increasing numbers of loops.
However this pattern is typical of effective field theories and is not an obstacle
to making quantum predictions.
The procedure for carrying out this program involves the following steps.
The action is organized in full generality in an energy expansion. The ver-
tices and propagators of the theory start with terms from the lowest order
Lagrangian, and higher order Lagrangians are treated as perturbations. The
quantum corrections are calculated and since the ultraviolet divergences re-
spect the symmetry of the theory and are local, they can be absorbed into
the parameters of the action. These renormalized parameters must be de-
termined from experiment. The remaining relations between amplitudes are
the predictions of the theory. In the following sections I describe in more
detail the steps sketched above.

13
6 The Energy Expansion
We have already partially discussed this in previous sections. In addition to
the gravitational Lagrangian (with Λ = 0)
√2
 
Lg = R + c1 R2 + c2 Rµν Rµν + O(R3 )
g (46)
κ2
the matter Lagrangian must also be written with general couplings in in-
creasing powers of the curvature

√ 1 µν

Lm = g (g ∂µ φ∂ν φ − m2 φ2 )
2 o
+ d1 Rµν ∂µ φ∂ν φ + R(d2 g µν ∂µ φ∂ν φ + d3 m2 φ2 ) + . . . . (47)

The couplings ci are dimensionless and in matrix elements the expansion will
be of the form 1 + Gq 2 ci . The coefficients di are a bit more subtle. They
have dimension di ∼ 1/(mass)2 . In a theory where gravity is the only low
energy interaction, a point particle would be expected to have di of order
G. However for interacting theories or composite particles the coefficients
can be much larger. In matrix elements of the energy momentum tensor, di
play the role analogous to the charge radius. In QED, the photonic radiative
corrections to the energy-momentum charge radius of a charged particle will
generate di of order α/m2 . In the case of bound states, a composite particle
will have di of order the physical spatial extent of the particle di ∼< r 2 >.
If we just had gravity plus a single type of matter field, we could use the
equations of motion to eliminate some terms in these effective Lagrangian,
as the equations of motion relate the curvatures to the matter field. When
treated as an effective field theory, it is fair to use the lowest order equations of
motion to simplify the next order Lagrangian. However, in practice we have
several types of possible matter fields, as well as interactions among these
fields, so that the equations of motion would vary according to which fields
were included. I have therefore not eliminated any terms by the equations
of motion.

14
7 Renormalization
The one loop divergences of gravity have been studied in two slightly differ-
ent methods. One involves direct calculation of the Feynman diagrams with
a particular choice of gauge and definition of the quantum gravitational field
[16]. The background field method, with a slightly different gauge constraint,
allows one to calculate in a single step the divergences in graphs with arbi-
trary numbers of external lines and also produces a result which is explicitly
generally covariant[4]. In the latter technique one expands about a back-
ground spacetime ḡµν , fixes the gauge as we described above and collects all
the terms quadratic in the quantum field hµν and the ghost fields. For the
graviton field we have

Z  Z
√ 2 
Z [ḡ] = [dhµν ] exp i d4 x ḡ 2 R̄ + hµν D µναβ hαβ
κ
= detDµναβ
= expT rln(D µναβ ) (48)

where D µναβ is a differential operator made up of derivatives as well as factors

of the background curvature. The short distance divergences of this object
can be calculated by standard techniques once a regularization scheme is
chosen. Dimensional regularization is the preferred scheme because it does
not interfere with the invariances of general relativity. First calculated in
this scheme by ’t Hooft and Veltman[4], the divergent term at one-loop due
to graviton and ghost loops is described by a Lagrangian
1 1 2 7
 
(div)
L1loop= 2 R̄ + R̄µν R̄µν (49)
8π ǫ 120 20
with ǫ = 4 − d. Matter fields of different spins will also provide additional
contributions with different linear combinations of R2 and Rµν Rµν at one
loop.
The fact that the divergences is not proportional to the original Einstein
action is an indication that the theory is of the non-renormalizable type.
Despite the name, however, it is easy to renormalize the theory at any given
order. At one loop we identify renormalized parameters

15
 (r) 1
c1 = c1 +
960π 2 ǫ
(r) 7
c2 = c2 + (50)
160π 2 ǫ
which will absorb the divergence due to graviton loops. Alternate but equiv-
alent expressions would be used in the presence of matter loops.
A few comments on this result are useful. One often hears that pure
gravity is one loop finite. This is because the lowest order equation of motion
for pure gravity is Rµν = 0 so that the O(R2 ) terms in the Lagrangian vanish
for all solutions to the Einstein equation. However in the presence of matter
(even classical matter) this is no longer true and the graviton loops yield
divergent effects which must be renormalized as described above. At two
loops, there is a divergence in pure gravity which remains even after the
equations of motion have been used [17].

(div) 209κ2 1 αβ γδ
L2loop = R̄ γδ R̄ ησ R̄ησαβ (51)
2880(16π 2) ǫ
For our purposes, this latter result also serves to illustrate the nature of
the loop expansion. Higher order loops invariably involve more powers of
κ which by dimensional analysis implies more powers of the curvature or of
derivatives in the corresponding Lagrangian (i.e., one loop implies R2 terms,
2 loops imply R3 etc.). The two loop divergence would be renormalized by
absorbing the effect into a renormalized value of a coupling constant in the
O(R3 ) Lagrangian.

8 Quantum Predictions in An Effective The-

ory
At this stage it is important to be clear about the nature of the quantum
predictions in an effective theory. The divergences described in the last sec-
tions come out of loop diagrams, but they are not predictions of the effective
theory. They are due to the high energy portions of the loop integration,
and we do not even pretend that this portion is reliable. We expect the real
divergences (if any) to be different. However the divergences do not in any

16
case enter into any physical consequences, as they absorbed into the renor-
malized parameters. The couplings which appear in the effective Lagrangian
are also not predictions of the effective theory. They parameterize our igno-
rance and must emerge from an ultimate high energy theory or be measured
experimentally. However there are quantum effects which are due to low en-
ergy portion of the theory, and which the effective theory can predict. These
come because the effective theory is using the correct degrees of freedom and
the right vertices at low energy. It is these low energy effects which are the
quantum predictions of the effective field theory.
It may at first seem difficult to identify which components of a calculation
correspond to low energy, but in practice it is straightforward. The effective
field theory calculational technique automatically separates the low energy
observables. The local effective Lagrangian will generate contributions to
some set of processes, which will be parameterized by a set of coefficients.
If, in the calculation of the loop corrections, one encounters contributions
which have the same form as those from the local Lagrangian, these cannot
be distinguished from high energy effects. In the comparison of different
reactions, such effects play no role, since we do not know ahead of time the
value of the coefficients in L. We must measure these constants or form
linear combinations of observables which are independent of them. Only
loop contributions which have a different structure from the local Lagrangian
can make a difference in the predictions of reactions. Since the effective
Lagrangian accounts for the most general high energy effects, anything with
a different structure must come from low energy.
A particular class of low energy corrections stand out as the most impor-
tant. These are the nonlocal effects. In momentum space the nonlocality is
manifest by a nonanalytic behavior. Nonanalytic terms are clearly distinct
from the effects of the local Lagrangian, which always give results which
involves powers of the momentum.
Let us illustrate the nature of the quantum corrections by considering the
interactions of two loop heavy masses. In coordinate space we can consider
possible power modifications at order G of the interactions of the form
!
Gm1 m2 Gm Gh̄
V (r) = − 1 + a 2 + b 2 3 + ... (52)
r rc r c
The form of these corrections is fixed strictly by dimensional analysis. The

17
first, Gm
rc2
, is the classical expansion parameter for the nonlinear effects in
classical general relativity. In contrast, the second is the unique form linear
in Gh̄ and is the quantum expansion parameter. In momentum space, ob-
tained by the Fourier transform of the potential, one has the corresponding
expansion (up to constants of order 1)
s !
Gm1 m2 2 m2
V (q) ∼ 2
1 + aGq 2
+ bGq 2 ln(−q 2 ) + . . . (53)
q −q
q 2
m
The nonanalytic term of the form Gq 2 −q 2 corresponds to the classical ex-

pansion parameter, while the nonanalytic form Gq 2 ln(−q 2 ) corresponds to

the quantum expansion parameter. If we now turn to a calculation in an
effective field theory (to be described in the next section) we directly find
the desired terms, with an analytic contribution also

s !
Gm1 m2 2 m2
V (q) ∼ 1 + aGq + bGq 2 ln − q 2 + cGq 2 + . . . (54)
q2 −q 2

The analytic term Gq 2 receives contributions from the local effective La-
grangian, and also from the quantum loops. It is therefore not a quantum
prediction of the low energy effective theory. On the other hand the one
loop calculation shows that the nonanalytic terms are finite and indepen-
dent of the coefficients in the effective Lagrangian (aside from G). These
are then predictions of the low energy theory. Note that the analytic term
Fourier transforms to a delta function δV ∼ G2 m1 m2 δ 3 (r), which at finite
r is smaller than any power correction. Thus the leading power corrections
to the gravitational potential are reliably predicted by the effective theory,
including the quantum correction!

9 Quantum corrections to the Gravitational

Potential
The only complete example of this program is the calculation of the effect
of quantum physics on the gravitational interaction of two heavy masses.
The power-law corrections to the usual 1r potential are calculable. While

18
there is more than one way to define what one means by the potential when
one is working beyond leading order[5,18], the calculation of the quantum
corrections to that object are well defined. I will describe the specific one-
particle-reducible potential[5] defined by including the vertex and propagator
modifications of one graviton exchange.
The vertex corrections for a scalar particle have the most general form

2 ηµν
 
′ 2
Vµν ≡< p | Tµν | p > = F1 (q ) pµ p′ν + p′µ pν +q
h i
2
2 2
+F2 (q ) qµ qν − gµν q (55)
with F1 (0) = 1. Including the contributions of higher order effective La-
grangians as well as graviton loops one will obtain corrections of the form

s
(−q 2 )
!
2 2 2 2 m2
F1 (q ) = 1 + d1 q + κ q ℓ1 + ℓ2 ln 2 + ℓ3 + ...
µ −q 2
s
(−q 2 )
!
2 2 2 2 m2
F2 (q ) = −4(d2 + d3 )m + κ m ℓ4 + ℓ5 ln 2 + ℓ6 + . . (. 56)
µ −q 2
where the di are defined in Eq. 47 and the ℓi (i = 1, 2 . . . 6) are dimensionless
numbers from the loop diagrams. This general structure can be gotten from
dimensional analysis. Note that the di can be interpreted as the charge radii
for the energy-momentum tensor. For the propagator correction, allow me to
drop Lorentz indices here in order to see the physics rather than the indices.
In
q the vacuum polarization there is no mass, hence no correction of the form
m2
−q 2
. The propagator plus vacuum polarization is of the form
( )
1 1 1 1 h i
2
+ 2 π(q 2 ) 2 + . . . = + κ2
c 1 + c 2 + ℓ 7 + ℓ 8 ln(−q 2
) (57)
q q q q2
With the definition of the one-particle-reducible interaction, we form

κ2 1 (1)
h i 1
− Vµν (q) iD µν,αβ (q) + iD µν,ρσ iΠρσ,ηλ iD ηλ,αβ Vαβ (q)
4 2m1 2m2
" " # #
i b(m 1 + m 2 )
≈ 4πGm1 m2 2 − iκ2 aln(q2 ) + √ 2
+ const (58)
q q

19
where a is a linear combination of ℓ2 , ℓ5 , ℓ8 and b is a combination of ℓ3 , ℓ6 .
1
The factors of 2m account for the normalization used in our states. When
this is turned into a coordinate space potential the constant terms yield zero
at any finite radius, since

d3 q −i~q·~r
Z
3
e = δ 3 (x) (59)
(2π)
while the non analytic terms however lead to power law behavior since

d3 q −i~q·~r 1 1
Z
3
e = 2 2
(2π) q 2π r
3
d q −i~q·~r 2 −1
Z
3
e ln~q = 2 3 (60)
(2π) 2π r
From our discussion in the previous section, we know that constant terms
in V (r) correspond to aqdelta function potential and can be dropped at any
m2
finite r. The factors of −q 2 lead to the classical power-law corrections and
2
the ln(−q ) terms lead to the quantum power-law corrections, as in Eq. 52.
Therefore we need to calculate the constants ℓ2 , ℓ5 and ℓ8 and ℓ3 , ℓ6 .
The calculation is a bit tedious because of all the Lorentz indices, but
one finds for the non-analytic terms in the vertex[3,5]

κ2 2 1 π2m
" #
2 3 2
F1 (q ) = 1 + q − ln(−q ) + √
32π 2 4 16 −q 2
κ2 m2 7 π2m
" #
2 4 2
F2 (q ) = − ln(−q ) + √ 2 (61)
32π 2 3 8 −q
The non-analytic terms in the vacuum polarization can be obtained from
the work of ’t Hooft and Veltman[4] by noting that, is a massless theory,
1
the ln(−q 2 ) terms are always related to the coefficient of d−4 in dimensional
regularization. The appropriate combination is

κ2 q 4 21 1
 
αβ,γδ
Pµν,αβ Π Pγδ,ρσ = 2
(ηµρ ηνσ + ηνρ ηµσ ) + ηµν ηρσ
32π 120 h
120 i
−ln(−q 2 ) + . . . (62)

20
 This leads to

κ2 1 (1)
h i 1
− Vµν (q) iD µν,αβ (q) + iD µν,ρσ iΠρσ,ηλ iD ηλ,αβ Vαβ (q)
4 2m1 2m2
2 2
" " # #
i iκ 127 2 π (m1 + m2 )
≈ 4πGm1 m2 2 − − ln(q ) + √ + const (63)
q 32π 2 60 2 q2

and the corresponding Fourier transform

" #
Gm1 m2 G(m1 + m2 ) 127 Gh̄
V (r) = − 1− 2
− (64)
r rc 30π 2 r 2 c3
Photons and massless neutrinos also modify the vacuum polarization at large
distance, generating ln(−q 2 ) corrections[16]. If we include these, with Nν
massless neutrinos, the quantum piece becomes
135 + 2Nν Gh̄
− (65)
30π 2 r 2 c3
When we perform a perturbative expansion, we want the corrections to be
small and well behaved. In this regard, gravity is the best perturbative theory
in Nature! The quantum correction rGh̄ 2 c3 is about 10
−38
at r = 1 fm, and is
unmeasurably tiny on macroscopic scales. This of course is a success; we want
quantum gravity to have a well behaved classical limit. However it indicates
that this is unlikely to generate an active phenomenology. Overall though,
the number is not important; the methodology is. Quantum predictions can
be made in general relativity.

10 Issues in the Structure of Gravitational

Effective Field Theory
In this section I would like to describe two ways in which the gravitational ef-
fective field theory superficially appears different from standard expectations
in other effective field theories.
i) The extreme low energy limit.
The considerations above concern what could be called “ordinary” dis-
tance scales, i.e. fermis to kilometers, and regions where the curvature is

21
small. Certainly as one goes to high energies, the methodology is no longer
applicable. However, gravity may also behave oddly in the limit of extreme
low energy, i.e. as the wavelength probed becomes comparable to the size of
the universe or the distance to the nearest black hole. For example, there are
singularity theorems[19] which state that for most reasonable matter distri-
butions, spacetime evolved by Einstein’s equations has a singularity in the
future or past. The singularity itself is not necessarily a problem; most likely
the singularity is smoothed out in the full high energy theory. However, it is
unusual that the low energy theory evolves into a state where it is no longer
valid. The G.E.F.T. would not work in the neighborhood of a singularity.
Therefore we could have a reasonable calculation which works for some ordi-
nary wavelengths but cannot be applied for λ → ∞ because of the presence
of large curvature. The existence of a horizon around black holes may also
be a problem as λ → ∞. The horizon itself is not a problem, in the sense
that the curvature can be very small at the horizon so that a freely falling
observer would be able to apply the effective theory locally. However, prob-
lems associated with the horizon could possible arise as λ → ∞ since regions
at spatial infinity are inaccessible to processes inside the horizon. I do not
know if in fact there are real problems with the infinite wavelength limit, but
at least this is a limit where our past experience with effective theories is not
applicable. In many ways, it would be more interesting to have a problem at
the extreme low energy end rather than the better known problems at high
energy, since we could not rely on new physics at high scales to resolve the
issue.
ii) Naive power counting
The second point involves a technical issue, i.e. the correct counting of
momenta in loops. In chiral theories, Weinberg[20] proved an elegant power
counting theorem which shows that higher order loop diagrams always gen-
erate higher orders in the energy expansion. Explicit calculations in gravity
have also followed this pattern. However, there does not yet exist the equiv-
alent of Weinberg’s power counting theorem. In fact an attempt to do naive
power counting runs into an obstacle in that it seems to give a dangerous
behavior for some diagrams. For example if one calculates the box diagram
where two heavy particles interact by the exchange of two gravitons, both

22
naive power counting and explicit calculation give a correction of the form

κ2 m21 m22 2 2
(κ m ) (66)
q2

i.e. an apparent expansion in the dimensionless variable κ2 m2 . However this

would be a disaster as κ2 m2 can be large for classical objects and because
it does not allow a classical limit. When one puts in factors of h̄ and c one
2 2c
has κ m h̄
, i.e. the h̄ is in the denominator. Direct calculation shows that
this bad behavior is canceled by the crossed box diagram, and that the sum
of the two fulfills standard expectation. This is similar to the cancellation if
infrared divergences, which is known to occur in gravity in the same way as
in QED[21]. With some work, some of the systematics of this cancellation
in other diagrams can be worked out, and T. Torma and I will soon have a
paper describing these issues[22]. We have not found any breakdown of the
standard expectation of the nature of the quantum expansion; but the field
still lacks a general proof comparable to Weinberg’s.

11 Future Directions
The gravitational effective field theory provides a new technology for quan-
tum gravity. Most discussions of the topic of gravity and quantum mechanics
do not keep track of the high vs low scales. This “effective” way of thinking
can be very useful in deciding which aspects are trustworthy and which are
speculative.
Within the effective theory, there are several possible directions for future
work. It may be possible to compare the quantum predictions with the results
of computer simulations of lattice gravity. It is too early to entirely give up on
all hopes for real phenomenology. Perhaps quantum effects can build up and
be visible as deviations from various null effects of the classical theory[23].
Perhaps these ideas may be useful in describing the very early universe. There
are also potential theoretical applications, such as the effects of anomalies or
the quantum influence on the development of singularities. Finally there exist
in the literature various suggestions for unusual gravitational effects such as
phase transitions, running G at low energy, solutions to the dark matter
problem etc. Effective field theory should be able to support or refute these

23
suggestions. At the least, we will put our standard expectations on a stronger
footing.
Nature has apparently given us the fields and interactions of the elec-
troweak gauge theory, quantum chromodynamics and general relativity at
present energies. All are treatable at those energies by the techniques of
quantum mechanics. It remains a formidable challange to construct the ul-
timate high energy structure of Nature. We expect it to be quite different
from what we presently have. Because physics is an experimental science, it
is possible that we will not be able to truly know the ultimate theory, but
impressive attempts are underway. However we do have a right to expect
that our theories are consistent at the energies that we use them. In this
regard, the effective field theory framework is the appropriate description of
quantum gravity at ordinary energies.

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank the organizers and participants of this summer

school for their hospitality and scientific discussions. This work has been
partially supported by the U. S. National Science Foundation.

References
[1] S. Weinberg, The Quantum Theory of Fields (Cambridge University
Press,Cambridge,1995). The author describes his goal as: ”This is in-
tended to be a book on quantum field theory for the era of effective field
theory.”

[2] S. Weinberg, Physica (Amsterdam) 96A, 327 (1979).

J.F. Donoghue, E. Golowich and B.R. Holstein, Dynamics of the Stan-
dard Model (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1992).
J. Gasser and H. Leutwyler, Nucl. Phys. B250, 465 (1985).
H. Georgi, Weak Interactions and Modern Particle Theory (Ben-
jamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, 1984).
J.F. Donoghue, in Effective Field Theories of the Standard Model, ed.
by U.-G. Meissner (World Scientific, Singapore, 1992) p. 3.
A. Cohen, Proceedings of the 1993 TASI Summer School, ed. by S. Raby
(World Scientific, Singapore, 1994).

24
 Plenary talks by H. Leutwyler and S. Weinberg in Proceedings of the
XXVL International Conference on High Energy Physics, Dallas 1992,
ed. by J. Sanford (AIP, NY, 1993) pp. 185, 346.

[3] J.F. Donoghue, Phys. Rev. D50, 3874 (1994).

[4] ’t Hooft and M. Veltman, Ann. Inst. H. Poincare A20, 69 (1974).

[5] J.F. Donoghue, Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 2996 (1994).

[6] The (1, -1, -1, -1) metric is used in P.A.M. Dirac, General Theory of
Relativity (Wiley, New York; 1975).

[7] S. Weinberg, Gravitation and Cosmology (Wiley, New York; 1972).

[8] Review of Particle Properties, Phys. Rev. D45, I.1 (1992).

[9] K.S. Stelle, Gen. Rel. Grav. 9, 353 (1978). A. Pais and G. E. Uhlenbeck,
Phys. Rev. 79, 145 (1950).
K.S. Stelle, Phys. Rev. D16, 953 (1977).
A.A. Starobinsky, Phys. Lett. 91B, 99 (1980).

[10] J. Simon, Phys. Rev. D41, 3720 (1990); 43, 3308 (1991).

[11] B.S. De Witt, Phys. Rev.160, 1113 (1967), ibid. 162, 1195, 1239 (1967).
R.P. Feynman, Acta. Phys. Pol. 24, 697 (1963); Caltech lectures 1962-
63.

[12] see, e.g. L.F. Abbott Acta. Phys. Pol. B13,33 (1992).

[13] M. Veltman, in Methods in Field Theory Proc. of the Les Houches Sum-
mer School, 1975, ed. by R. Balian and J.Zinn-Justin (North Holland,
Amsterdam, 1976).

[14] L. D. Faddeev and V.N. Popov, Phys. Lett. 25B,29 (967).

[15] See also texts such as S. Pokorski, Gauge Field Theory (Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge,1988).
T.P. Cheng and L.F. Li, Gauge Theory of Elementary Particle Physics
(Clarendon Press, Oxford,1984).

25
[16] D.M. Capper, G. Leibrandt and M. Ramon Medrano, Phys. Rev. D8,
4320 (1973).
M.R. Brown, Nucl. Phys. B56, 194 (1973).
D.M. Capper, M.J. Duff and L. Halpern, Phys. Rev. D10, 461 (1944).
S.Deser and P. van Niewenhuizen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 32, 245 (1974); Phys.
Rev. D10, 401 411 (1974).
S.Deser, H.-S. Tsao and P. van Niewenhuizen, Phys. Rev. D10, 3337
(1974).

[17] M. Goroff and A. Sagnotti, Nucl. Phys. B266, 799 (1986).

[18] I. Muzinich and S. Vokos, Phys. Rev. D52, 3472 (1995),

H. Hamber and S. Liu, Phys. Lett. B357, 51 (1995).

[19] S.W. Hawking and R. Penrose, Proc. R. Soc. London A314, 529 (1970).
S.W. Hawking and G.F.R. Ellis, The Large Scale Structure of Space-
Time, (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1973).

[20] S. Weinberg, Physica (Amsterdam) 96A, 327 (1979).

[21] S. Weinberg, Phys. Rev. 140, B516 (1966).

[22] J.F. Donoghue and T. Torma, Power counting for loop diagrams in the
effective field theory of gravity (in preparation).

[23] e..g. P. Mende, in String Quantum Gravity and Physics at Planck Energy
Scales, ed by N. Sanchez (World Scientific,1993).

26