Abstract. The recent introduction of new variables to simplify the constraint conditions in the canonical quantisation of general relativity motivates this discussion of a general canonical quantisation of another new set of classical phase space variables. In particular, the author's starting point is the T-loop coordinates of Rovelli and Smolin (1988) which are defined on the extended metric phase space of the Ashtekar pair ( sigma , A). The author considers a similar set of such loop coordinates for the metric phase space (q_ab,P^ab) and a model scalar field phase space ( phi , pi ).

Print publication: Issue 1 (January 1990)