paper

Functional Determinants for Constrained Path Integrals in Minisuperspace Jackiw-Teitelboim Gravity

arXiv:2512.21549 · doi:10.1103/jspm-lswp

Abstract

We present a detailed evaluation of constrained minisuperspace path integrals in Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity and in biaxial Bianchi IX quantum cosmology, employing the Gelfand-Yaglom theorem to compute the relevant functional determinants. In both settings, integrating out the dilaton or a minisuperspace variable produces a functional delta that enforces the classical constraint equation, thereby localizing the remaining path integral onto classical configurations. The associated Jacobian, equivalently, the functional determinant of the operator obtained by linearizing the constraint about the classical solution, fixes the semiclassical prefactor and the correct measure. We evaluate this determinant exactly via the Gelfand-Yaglom method and obtain the fully normalized fixed-lapse propagators. We further extend the JT analysis to a quadratic dilaton potential and comment on the corresponding saddle-point structure of the lapse integral. Finally, we apply the same approach to Bianchi IX quantum cosmology and derive the fixed-lapse propagator, including its prefactor. Our results provide a systematic and broadly applicable prescription for treating constraint structures in gravitational path integrals using functional determinant techniques, with potential applications to a wider class of minisuperspace quantum cosmology and quantum gravity.

19 pages, v2: Accepted for publication in Physical Review D

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