English

Dimension and Dimensional Reduction in Quantum Gravity

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2017-09-27 v2 High Energy Physics - Theory

Abstract

A number of very different approaches to quantum gravity contain a common thread, a hint that spacetime at very short distances becomes effectively two dimensional. I review this evidence, starting with a discussion of the physical meaning of "dimension" and concluding with some speculative ideas of what dimensional reduction might mean for physics.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1705.05417,
  title  = {Dimension and Dimensional Reduction in Quantum Gravity},
  author = {S. Carlip},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1705.05417},
  year   = {2017}
}

Comments

33 page draft of solicited review article -- comments and added references welcome; v2: many added references, minor clean-up

R2 v1 2026-06-22T19:47:47.771Z