Gauge fixation and global phase time for minisuperspaces

Abstract

Homogeneous and isotropic cosmological models whose Hamilton-Jacobi equation is separable are deparametrized by turning their action functional into that of an ordinary gauge system. Canonical gauge conditions imposed on the gauge system are used to define a global phase time in terms of the canonical coordinates and momenta of the minisuperspaces. The procedure clearly shows how the geometry of the constraint surface restricts the choice of time; the consequences that this has on the path integral quantization are discussed.