In the investigation and resolution of the cosmological constant problem the inclusion of the dynamics of quantum gravity can be a crucial step. In this work we suggest that the quantum constraints in a canonical theory of gravity can provide a way o
f addressing the issue: we consider the case of two-dimensional quantum dilaton gravity non-minimally coupled to a U(1) gauge field, in the presence of an arbitrary number of massless scalar matter fields, intended also as an effective description of highly symmetrical higher-dimensional models. We are able to quantize the system non-perturbatively and obtain an expression for the cosmological constant Lambda in terms of the quantum physical states, in a generalization of the usual QFT approach. We discuss the role of the classical and quantum gravitational contributions to Lambda and present a partial spectrum of values for it.
The Brown-Kuchar mechanism is applied in the case of General Relativity coupled with the Schutz model for a perfect fluid. Using the canonical formalism and manipulating the set of modified constraints one is able to recover the definition of a time
evolution operator, i.e. a physical Hamiltonian, expressed as a functional of gravitational variables and the entropy.
The problem of time is an unsolved issue of canonical General Relativity. A possible solution is the Brown-Kuchar mechanism which couples matter to the gravitational field and recovers a physical, i.e. non vanishing, observable Hamiltonian functional
by manipulating the set of constraints. Two cases are analyzed. A generalized scalar fluid model provides an evolutionary picture, but only in a singular case. The Schutz model provides an interesting singularity free result: the entropy per baryon enters the definition of the physical Hamiltonian. Moreover in the co-moving frame one is able to identify the time variable tau with the logarithm of entropy.
