Related papers: Connecting connections
The purpose of this paper is to present for the first time an elementary summary of a few recent results obtained through the application of the formal theory of partial differential equations and Lie pseudogroups in order to revisit the…
In the MacDowell-Mansouri formulation of general relativity, the spin connection and coframe variables are incorporated into a single Lie algebra-valued connection called the MacDowell-Mansouri connection, $\omega$. From the curvature form…
The definition of a reference frame in General Relativity is achieved through the construction of a congruence of time-like world-lines. In this framework, splitting techniques enable us to express physical phenomena in analogy with Special…
An introduction is given to discussions on the possiblity of fabricating spacetime geometries allowing time-travel scenarios with the help of matter possessing typically quantum features. Those scenarios are considered in the framework of…
Following recent assumptions to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity, the structure of spacetime is suppose to be a consequence of the relations among some fundamental objects, and its concept can be formulated without the…
We first define what we mean by gravitational lensing equations in a general space-time. A set of exact relations are then derived that can be used as the gravitational lens equations in all physical situations. The caveat is that into…
This paper presents three aspects by which the Weyl geometric generalization of Riemannian geometry, and of Einstein gravity, sheds light on actual questions of physics and its philosophical reflection. After introducing the theory's…
We describe a geometrical way to unify gravity with the other natural forces by adding fermionic Lorentz scalar variables, characterising attribute, or property, to space-time location. [With five such properties one can accommodate all…
We explore the idea that the coupling between matter and spacetime is more complex than the one originally envisioned by Einstein. We propose that such coupling takes the form of a new fundamental tensor in the Einstein field equations. We…
We present in the most natural way, that is, in the context of the theory of vector and principal bundles and connections in them, fundamental geometrical concepts related to General Relativity and one of its extensions, the Einstein-Cartan…
A class of theories of gravitation that naturally incorporates preferred frames of reference is presented. The underlying space-time geometry consists of a partial parallelization of space-time and has properties of Riemann-Cartan as well…
We remind how relationality arises as the core insight of general-relativistic gauge field theories from the articulation of the generalised hole and point-coincidence arguments. Hence, a compelling case for a manifestly relational…
We give a modern account of the construction and structure of the space of generalized connections, an extension of the space of connections that plays a central role in loop quantum gravity.
We extend the well-known formula for the Euler class of a real oriented even-dimensional vector bundle in terms of the curvature of a metric connection to the case of a general linear connection provided a metric is present. We rewrite the…
We discuss some fundamental issues underlying gravitational physics and point out some of the main shortcomings of Einstein's General Relativity. In particular, after taking into account the role of the two main objects of relativistic…
A generalized connection, including Christoffel coefficients, torsion, non-metricity tensor and metric-asymmetricity object, is analyzed according to the Schouten classification. The inverse structure matrix is found in the linearized…
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…
The phenomenologically observed flatness - or near flatness - of spacetime cannot be understood as emerging from continuum Planck (or sub-Planck) scales using known physics. Using dimensional arguments it is demonstrated that any…
This is an English translation of the Italian version of an encyclopedia chapter that appeared in the Italian Encyclopedia of the Physical Sciences, edited by Bruno Bertotti (1994). Following requests from colleagues we have decided to make…
We review the book of Ruben Aldrovandi and Jose Geraldo Pereira about Teleparallel Gravity. Teleparallel Gravity is an alternative to General Relativity to describe the gravitational interaction. The difference between General Relativity…