Related papers: Plebanski gravity without the simplicity constrain…
The principles of quantum field theory in flat spacetime suggest that gravity is mediated by a massless particle with helicity $\pm2$, the so-called graviton. It is regarded as textbook knowledge that, when the self-coupling of a particle…
In three spacetime dimensions, general relativity becomes a topological field theory, whose dynamics can be largely described holographically by a two-dimensional conformal field theory at the ``boundary'' of spacetime. I review what is…
We construct a duality manifest gravitational theory for the special linear group, ${\mathbf{SL}(N)}$ with $N{\neq 4}$. The spacetime is formally extended, to have the dimension $\textstyle{\frac{1}{2}} N(N-1)$, yet is `gauged'.…
We present new action principles for unimodular gravity, defined in the chiral Pleba\'{n}ski formulation based on (complex) two-forms and a complex ${\rm SO}(3)$ connection. In these theories, just as in their analogues in the metric…
We discuss spherically symmetric black holes in the modified self-dual theory of gravity recently studied by Krasnov, obtained adding a Weyl-curvature dependent `cosmological term' to the Plebanski lagrangian for general relativity. This…
A number of approaches to gravitation have much in common with the gauge theories of the standard model of particle physics. In this paper, we develop the Hamiltonian formulation of a class of gravitational theories that may be regarded as…
The Palatini formulation is used to develop a genuine connection theory for general relativity, in which the gravitational field is represented by a Lorentz-valued spin connection. The existence of a tetrad field, given by the Fock-Ivanenko…
A general bimetric theory of gravitation is described as a linear in the second approximation. This is allowed due to the small experimental significance of the higher order terms. Solar System tests are satisfied. The theory allows black…
We study the Hamiltonian formulation of Plebanski theory in both the Euclidean and Lorentzian cases. A careful analysis of the constraints shows that the system is non regular, i.e. the rank of the Dirac matrix is non-constant on the…
We describe "small bodies" in a non-metric gravity theory previously studied by this author. The main dynamical field of the theory is a certain triple of two-forms rather than the metric, with only the spacetime conformal structure, not…
We present a novel, manifestly Lorentz-invariant, polynomial, and straightforwardly quantisable action for duality-symmetric gauge theories formulated using gauge potentials. Central to our construction is the identification of a harmonic…
We will construct a loop space formalism for general relativity, and construct the Polyakov variables as connections for such a loop space. We will use these Polyakov variables to construct a dual theory of gravity beyond linear…
Quadratic gravity in two dimensions can be formulated as a Background Field (BF) theory plus an interaction term which is polynomial in both, the gauge and Background fields. This formulation is similar to the one given by Freidel and…
We perform, in a manifestly $SO(n-1,1)$ [$SO(n)$] covariant fashion, the Hamiltonian analysis of general relativity in $n$ dimensions written as a constrained $BF$ theory. We solve the constraint on the $B$ field in a way naturally adapted…
We geometrize six-dimensional pure $\mathcal{N}=1$ Supergravity by means of an exact Courant algebroid, whose Severa class is defined through the Supergravity three-form $H$, equipped with a generalized metric and a compatible,…
We propose and study a new action for three-dimensional massive gravity. This action takes a very simple form when written in terms of connection and triad variables, but the connection can also be integrated out to obtain a triad…
Starting from the new minimal multiplet of supergravity in $2+2$ dimensions, we construct two types of self-dual supergravity theories. One of them involves a self-duality condition on the Riemann curvature and implies the equations of…
An arbitrary local theory of a symmetric two-tensor field $H_{\mu \nu}$ in Minkowski spacetime is considered, in which the equations of motion are required to be compatible with a nonlinear length-fixing constraint $H_{\mu \nu}^{2}=\pm…
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…
Double Field Theory suggests to view the whole massless sector of closed strings as the gravitational unity. The fundamental symmetries therein, including the $\mathbf{O}(D,D)$ covariance, can determine unambiguously how the Standard Model…