Notes on semiclassical Weyl gravity

Abstract: In any quantum theory of gravity, it is of the utmost importance to recover the limit of quantum theory in an external spacetime. In quantum geometrodynamics (quantization of general relativity in the Schr\"odinger picture), this leads in particular to the recovery of a semiclassical (WKB) time which governs the dynamics of non-gravitational fields in spacetime. Here, we first review this procedure with special emphasis on conceptual issues. We then turn to an alternative theory - Weyl (conformal) gravity, which is defined by a Lagrangian that is proportional to the square of the Weyl tensor. We present the canonical quantization of this theory and develop its semiclassical approximation. We discuss in particular the extent to which a semiclassical time can be recovered and contrast it with the situation in quantum geometrodynamics.