Related papers: Canonical Relativity and the Dimensionality of the…
With the theory of special relativity, time has been linked with space into a four-dimensional space-time from which a basic question must be asked: can space be really transformed into time and vice-versa? The response is affirmative if…
We consider various curious features of general relativity, and relativistic field theory, in two spacetime dimensions. In particular, we discuss: the vanishing of the Einstein tensor; the failure of an initial-value formulation for vacuum…
We study the approach in which independent variables describing gravity are functions of the space-time embedding into a flat space of higher dimension. We formulate a canonical formalism for such a theory in a form, which requires imposing…
When four-dimensional general relativity is embedded in an unconstrained man-ner in a fifth dimension, the physical quantities of spacetime can be interpreted as geometrical properties related to the extra dimension. It has become…
The equations of motion describing all physical systems, except gravity, remain invariant if a constant is added to the Lagrangian. In the conventional approach, gravitational theories break this symmetry exhibited by all other physical…
Suppose the usual description of spacetime as a 4-dimensional manifold with a Lorentzian metric breaks down at Planck energies. Can we still construct sensible theoretical models of the universe? Are they testable? Do they lead to a…
We investigate the cosmological behavior in a universe governed by time asymmetric extensions of general relativity, which is a novel modified gravity based on the addition of new, time-asymmetric, terms on the Hamiltonian framework, in a…
In quantum gravity there is no notion of absolute time. Like all other quantities in the theory, the notion of time has to be introduced "relationally", by studying the behavior of some physical quantities in terms of others chosen as a…
Curvature is a key notion in General Relativity, characterizing the local physical properties of spacetime. By contrast, the concept of curvature has received scant attention in nonperturbative quantum gravity. One may even wonder whether…
This review is an up-to-date account of the use of numerical relativity to study dynamical, strong-gravity environments in a cosmological context. First, we provide a gentle introduction into the use of numerical relativity in solving…
Approaches to quantum gravity often involve the disappearance of space and time at the fundamental level. The metaphysical consequences of this disappearance are profound, as is illustrated with David Lewis's analysis of modality. As…
Faced with the persisting problem of the unification of gravity with other fundamental interactions we investigate the possibility of a new paradigm, according to which the basic space of physics is a multidimensional space ${\cal C}$…
Observed physical phenomena can be described well by quantum mechanics or general relativity. People may try to find an unified fundamental theory which mainly aims to merge gravity with quantum theory. However, difficulty in merging those…
The physics of quantum gravity is discussed within the framework of topological quantum field theory. Some of the principles are illustrated with examples taken from theories in which space-time is three dimensional.
This is an introduction to quantum gravity, aimed at a fairly general audience and concentrating on what have historically two main approaches to quantum gravity: the covariant and canonical programs (string theory is not covered). The…
The method of four-dimensional Causal Dynamical Triangulations provides a background-independent definition of the sum over geometries in quantum gravity, in the presence of a positive cosmological constant. We present the evidence…
We perform canonical quantization of General Relativity, as an effective quantum field theory below the Planck scale, within the BRST-invariant framework. We show that the promotion of constraints to dynamical equations of motion for…
We review some aspects of quantum gravity in the context of cosmology. In particular, we focus on models with a phenomenology accessible to current and near-future observations, as the early Universe might be our only chance to peep through…
The general uncertainty principle applied to gravity can be implemented as a set of modified Poisson brackets in the canonical formalism. As such, the theory is not canonical and the resulting equations of motion do not lead to a covariant…
Numerous approaches to a quantum theory of gravity posit fundamental ontologies that exclude spacetime, either partially or wholly. This situation raises deep questions about how such theories could relate to the empirical realm, since…