Quantization of the Reduced Phase Space of Two-Dimensional Dilaton Gravity

Abstract

We study some two-dimensional dilaton gravity models using the formal theory of partial differential equations. This allows us to prove that the reduced phase space is two-dimensional without an explicit construction. By using a convenient (static) gauge we reduce the theory to coupled \ode s and we are able to derive for some potentials of interest closed-form solutions. We use an effective (particle) Lagrangian for the reduced field equations in order to quantize the system in a finite-dimensional setting leading to an exact partial differential Wheeler-DeWitt equation instead of a functional one. A WKB approximation for some quantum states is computed and compared with the classical Hamilton-Jacobi theory. The effect of minimally coupled matter is examined.