Related papers: Empirical consequences of symmetries
Explicit breaking of diffeomorphism symmetry with nondynamical background fields in gravitational theories can lead to inconsistencies between the equations of motion and the underlying pseudo-Riemannian geometry. These theories produce a…
In this letter we reconsider the role of Lorentz invariance in the dynamical generation of the observed internal symmetries. We argue that, generally, Lorentz invariance can only be imposed in the sense that all Lorentz non-invariant…
Gravitational theories with fixed background fields break local Lorentz and diffeomorphism invariance either explicitly or spontaneously. In the case of explicit breaking it is known that conflicts can arise between the dynamics and…
A Weyl invariant extension of Einstein gravity is studied. It simply consists in the group averaging of Einstein's action under Weyl transformations. Contradicting cherished beliefs, a conformal anomaly is found in the trace of the…
To guarantee the stability of the cosmological constant sector against radiative corrections coming from quantum matter fields, one of the most natural ingredients to invoke is the symmetry under scale transformations of the gravitational…
The concept of gauge invariance in classical electrodynamics assumes tacitly that Maxwell's equations have unique solutions. By calculating the electromagnetic field of a moving particle both in Lorenz and in Coulomb gauge and directly from…
We consider two concepts often discussed as significant features of general relativity (particularly when contrasted with the other forces of the Standard Model): background independence and diffeomorphism invariance. We remind the reader…
In the framework of Galilei classical mechanics (i.e., general relativistic classical mechanics on a spacetime with absolute time) developed by Jadczyk and Modugno, we analyse systematically the relations between symmetries of the geometric…
General Relativity is usually formulated as a theory with gauge invariance under the diffeomorphism group, but there is a 'dilaton' formulation where it is in addition invariant under Weyl transformations, and a 'unimodular' formulation…
We describe explicitly how entanglement between quantum mechanical subsystems can lead to emergent gauge symmetry in a classical limit. We first provide a precise characterisation of when it is consistent to treat a quantum subsystem…
We first briefly review the adventure of scale invariance in physics, from Galileo Galilei, Weyl, Einstein, and Feynman to the revival by Dirac (1973) and Canuto et al. (1977). We then gather concrete observational evidence that…
The theory of cosmological perturbations is a well elaborated field. To deal with the diffeomorphism invariance of general relativity one generally introduces combinations of the metric and matter perturbations which are gauge invariant up…
A formalism describing the dynamics of classical and quantum systems from a group theoretical point of view is presented. We apply it to the simple example of the classical free particle. The Galileo group $G$ is the symmetry group of the…
The covariance group for general relativity, the diffeomorphisms, is replaced by a group of coordinate transformations which contains the diffeomorphisms as a proper subgroup. The larger group is defined by the assumption that all observers…
Effective theories of a scalar $\phi$ invariant under the internal \textit{galileon symmetry} $\phi\to\phi+b_\mu x^\mu$ have been extensively studied due to their special theoretical and phenomenological properties. In this paper, we…
This is the first of a couple of papers in which, by exploiting the capabilities of the Hamiltonian approach to general relativity, we get a number of technical achievements that are instrumental both for a disclosure of \emph{new} results…
We study how the coupling with gravity of theories with non-linearly realized space-time symmetries is modified when one changes the parametrization of the coset. As an example, we focus on the so-called Galileon duality: a…
We extend the notion of general coordinate invariance to many-body, not necessarily relativistic, systems. As an application, we investigate nonrelativistic general covariance in Galilei-invariant systems. The peculiar transformation rules…
It is well known that a theory with explicit Lorentz violation is not invariant under diffeomorphisms. On the other hand, for geometrical theories of gravity, there are alternative transformations, which can be best defined within the…
The different roles and natures of spacetime appearing in a quantum field theory and in classical physics are analyzed implying that a quantum theory of gravitation is not necessarily a quantum theory of curved spacetime. Developing an…