Related papers: Observables need not be diffeomorphism invariant i…
Canonical quantization of gravitational systems is obstructed by the problem of time. Due to diffeomorphism symmetry the Hamiltonian vanishes: dynamics with respect to a background time parameter appears "frozen." Two strategies towards the…
The cosmological constant problem is one of the long-standing issues of modern physics. While we can measure the value of the cosmological constant with great accuracy, we are not able to calculate it in a coherent theoretical framework. On…
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…
There is good evidence that full general relativity is non-integrable or even chaotic. We point out the severe repercussions: differentiable Dirac observables and a reduced phase space do not exist in non-integrable constrained systems and…
A simple diffeomorphism invariant theory of connections with the non-compact structure group R of real numbers is quantized. The theory is defined on a four-dimensional 'space-time' by an action resembling closely the self-dual Plebanski…
Conventional quantization of two-dimensional diffeomorphism and Weyl invariant theories sacrifices the latter symmetry to anomalies, while maintaining the former. When alternatively Weyl invariance is preserved by abandoning diffeomorphism…
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 study of measurements in quantum mechanics exposes many of the ways in which the quantum world is different. For example, one of the hallmarks of quantum mechanics is that observables may be incompatible, implying among other things…
`Global' symmetries, such as the boost invariance of classical mechanics and special relativity, can give rise to direct empirical counterparts such as the Galileo-ship phenomenon. However, a widely accepted line of thought holds that…
Both classical and respectively quantum observables can be modeled as somewhat similar examples of random variables. In such a model the associated measurements preserve the values spectrum of an observable but change the corresponding…
We develop a systematic classical framework to accommodate canonical quantization of geometric and matter perturbations on a quantum homogeneous isotropic flat spacetime. The existing approach of standard cosmological perturbations is…
Local observation is an important problem both for the foundations of a quantum theory of gravity and for applications to quantum-cosmological problems such as eternal inflation. While gauge invariant local observables can't be defined, it…
We address the role of large diffeomorphisms in Witten's 2+1 gravity on the manifold ${\bf R} \times T^2$. In a ``spacelike sector" quantum theory that treats the large diffeomorphisms as a symmetry, rather than as gauge, the Hilbert space…
We study the algebra of observables in semiclassical quantum gravity for cosmological backgrounds, focusing on two key examples: slow-roll inflation and evaporating Schwarzschild-de Sitter black holes. In both cases, we demonstrate the…
We discuss a systematic way in which a relational dynamics can be established relative to periodic clocks both in the classical and quantum theories, emphasising the parallels between them. We show that: (1) classical and quantum relational…
It might seem that a choice of a time coordinate in Hamiltonian formulations of general relativity breaks the full four-dimensional diffeomorphism covariance of the theory. This is not the case. We construct explicitly the complete set of…
We construct a manifestly diffeomorphism invariant Wilsonian (Exact) Renormalization Group for classical gravity, and begin the construction for quantum gravity. We demonstrate that the effective action can be computed without gauge fixing…
The task of quantizing gravity is compared with Einstein's relativization of gravity. The philosophical and physical foundations of general relativity are briefly reviewed. The Ehlers-Pirani-Schild scheme of operationally determining the…
Quantum gauge theory in the connection representation uses functions of holonomies as configuration observables. Physical observables (gauge and diffeomorphism invariant) are represented in the Hilbert space of physical states; physical…
We study how the problem of observables is fully resolved for background independent theories defined on finite graphs. We argue the correct analogue of coordinate independence is the invariance under changes of graph labels, a kind of…