Dynamical diffeomorphisms

Abstract

We construct a general effective dynamics for diffeomorphisms of spacetime, in a fixed external metric. Though related to familiar models of scalar fields as coordinates, our models have subtly different properties, both at kinematical and dynamical level. The energy-momentum tensor consists of two independently conserved parts. The background solution is the identity diffeomorphism and the energy-momentum tensor of this solution gives rise to an effective cosmological constant.