English

Massive Nordstr\"om Scalar (Density) Gravities from Universal Coupling

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2011-02-23 v1 High Energy Physics - Theory History and Philosophy of Physics

Abstract

Both particle physics and the 1890s Seeliger-Neumann modification of Newtonian gravity suggest considering a "mass term" for gravity, yielding a finite range due to an exponentially decaying Yukawa potential. Unlike Nordstr\"{o}m's "massless" theory, massive scalar gravities are strictly Special Relativistic, being invariant under the Poincar\'{e} group but not the conformal group. Geometry is a poor guide to understanding massive scalar gravities: matter sees a conformally flat metric, but gravity also sees the rest of the flat metric, barely, in the mass term. Infinitely many theories exhibit this bimetric 'geometry,' all with the total stress-energy's trace as source. All are new except the Freund-Nambu theory. The smooth massless limit indicates underdetermination of theories by data between massless and massive scalar gravities. The ease of accommodating electrons, protons and other fermions using density-weighted Ogievetsky-Polubarinov spinors in scalar gravity is noted.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1010.0227,
  title  = {Massive Nordstr\"om Scalar (Density) Gravities from Universal Coupling},
  author = {J. Brian Pitts},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1010.0227},
  year   = {2011}
}

Comments

Forthcoming in General Relativity and Gravitation

R2 v1 2026-06-21T16:22:34.587Z