Related papers: A comment on the matter-graviton coupling
Theories of gravity invariant under those diffeomorphisms generated by transverse vectors, $\pd_\m\xi^\m=0$ are considered. Such theories are dubbed transverse, and differ from General Relativity in that the determinant of the metric, $g$,…
This paper is a comprehensive investigation of the Affine Gauge Theory (AGT) as a gauge theory of gravity having the same mathematical structure as gauge theories of the other fundamental forces of nature. This mathematical structure…
We examine an extension of General Relativity with an explicit non-minimal coupling between matter and curvature. The purpose of this work is to present an overview of the implications of the latter to various contexts, ranging from…
The geometrical formulation of gravity is not unique and can be set up in a variety of spacetimes. Even though the gravitational sector enjoys this freedom of different geometrical interpretations, consistent matter couplings have to be…
We show that the phase space of three-dimensional gravity contains two layers of dualities: between diffeomorphisms and a notion of "dual diffeomorphisms" on the one hand, and between first order curvature and torsion on the other hand.…
The two-dimensional theory of gravity describing a graviton-dilaton system is considered. The graviton-dilaton coupling can be fixed such that the quantum theory remains free of the conformal anomaly for any conformal dimension of the…
There is solid consensus among physicists and philosophers that, in gauge field theory, for a quantity to be physically meaningful or real, it must be gauge-invariant. Yet, every "elementary" field in the Standard Model of particle physics…
Self-dual gravity is a diffeomorphism invariant theory in four dimensions that describes two propagating polarisations of the graviton and has a negative mass dimension coupling constant. Nevertheless, this theory is not only renormalisable…
We study the general class of gravitational field theories constructed on the basis of scale invariance (and therefore absence of any mass parameters) and invariance under transverse diffeomorphisms (TDiff), which are the 4-volume…
In the present manuscript, I examine an intriguing relation at the classical level between general relativity and a theory where matter couples uniquely multiplicatively to geometry in the Lagrangian density. Interestingly, the…
A new class of modified theory of gravity is introduced where the volume form becomes dynamical. This approach is motivated by unimodular gravity and can also be related to Brans-Dicke theory. On the level of the action, the only change…
I consider theories of gravity built not just from the metric and affine connection, but also other (possibly higher rank) symmetric tensor(s). The Lagrangian densities are scalars built from them, and the volume forms are related to…
We first exhibit in the commutative case the simple algebraic relations between the algebra of functions on a manifold and its infinitesimal length element $ds$. Its unitary representations correspond to Riemannian metrics and Spin…
In the theory of General Relativity, gravity is described by a metric which couples minimally to the fields representing matter. We consider here its "veiled" versions where the metric is conformally related to the original one and hence is…
Some conceptual issues concerning general invariant theories, with special emphasis on general relativity, are analyzed. The common assertion that observables must be required to be gauge invariant is examined in the light of the role…
We investigate matter couplings in massive bigravity. We find a new family of such consistent couplings, including and extending known consistent matter couplings, and we investigate their decoupling limits, ADM decompositions, Higuchi…
The configuration space of general relativity is superspace - the space of all Riemannian 3-metrics modulo diffeomorphisms. However, it has been argued that the configuration space for gravity should be conformal superspace - the space of…
Deviations from relativity are tightly constrained by numerous experiments. A class of unmeasured and potentially large violations is presented that can be tested in the laboratory only via weak gravity couplings. Specialized highly…
We study canonical transformations of general relativity (GR) to provide a novel matter coupling to gravity. Although the transformed theory is equivalent to GR in vacuum, the equivalence no longer holds if a matter field minimally couples…
A number of arguments at the interplay of general relativity and quantum theory suggest an operational limit to spatial resolution, conventionally modelled as a generalized uncertainty principle (GUP). Recently, it has been demonstrated…