Hamiltonian formalism for perfect fluids in general relativity

Schutz's Hamiltonian theory of a relativistic perfect fluid, based on the velocity-potential version of classical perfect fluid hydrodynamics as formulated by Seliger and Whitham, is used to derive, in the framework of the Arnowitt, Deser, and Misner (ADM) method, a general partially reduced Hamiltonian for relativistic systems filled with a perfect fluid. The time coordinate is chosen, as in Lund's treatment of collapsing balls of dust, as minus the only velocity potential different from zero in the case of an irrotational and isentropic fluid. A ''semi-Dirac'' method can be applied to quantize astrophysical and cosmological models in the framework of this partially reduced formalism. If one chooses Taub's adapted comoving coordinate system, it is possible to derive a fully reduced ADM Hamiltonian, which is equal to minus the total baryon number of the fluid, generalizing a result previously obtained by Moncrief in the more particular framework of Taub's variational principle, valid for self-gravitating barotropic relativistic perfect fluids. An unconstrained Hamiltonian density is then explicitly derived for a fluid obeying the equation of state p=(gamma-1)rho (1 < or = ..gamma.. < or = 2), which can adequately describe the phases of very high density attained in a catastrophic collapse or during the early stages of the Universe. This Hamiltonian density, shown to be equivalent to Moncrief's in the particular case of an isentropic fluid, can be simplified for fluid-filled class-A diagonal Bianchi-type cosmological models and appears as a suitable starting point for the study of the canonical quantization of these models.