Related papers: Frequently asked questions about Shape Dynamics
Recently we have presented a new formulation of the theory of gravity based on an implementation of the Einstein Equivalence Principle distinct from General Relativity. The kinetic part of the theory - that describes how matter is affected…
The recent interest in modified theories of gravity, involving some type of non-minimal coupling to the Ricci scalar, and the calculation of cosmological observables in the Einstein or the Jordan frame, motivate the formulation of these…
In recent years, the use of conformal transformation techniques has become widespread in the literature on gravitational theories alternative to general relativity, on cosmology, and on nonminimally coupled scalar fields. Typically, the…
This work reveals a fundamental link between general covariance and Birkhoff's theorem. We extend Birkhoff's theorem from general relativity to a broad class of generally covariant gravity theories formulated in the Hamiltonian framework.…
We propose that at the beginning of the universe gravity existed in a limbo either because it was switched off or because it was only conformally coupled to all particles. This picture can be reverse-engineered from the requirement that the…
Isometrodynamics (ID), the gauge theory of the group of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms of an "inner" D-dimensional flat space, is tentatively interpreted as a fundamental theory of gravity. Dimensional analysis shows that the Planck…
Appreciating the classical understanding of the elementary particle the "dynamical" Poincare algebra is developed. It is shown that the "dynamical" Poincare algebra and the equations of motion of particles with arbitrary spin are gauge…
We propose a first-order geometric Lagrangian for four-dimensional conformal gravity within the Cartan formulation, which yields, dynamically, the standard constraints on the fields, expected for conformal gravity. Upon imposing the…
It is well known that Einstein's equations assume a simple polynomial form in the Hamiltonian framework based on a Yang-Mills phase space. We re-examine the gravitational dynamics in this framework and show that {\em time} evolution of the…
Modified theories of gravity have been invoked recently as an alternative to dark energy, in an attempt to explain the apparent accelerated expansion of the universe at the present time. In order to describe inhomogeneities in cosmological…
The historical and conceptual foundations of General Relativity are revisited, putting the main focus on the physical meaning of the invariant ds, the Equivalence Principle, and the precise interpretation of spacetime geometry. It is argued…
The four-dimensional gauge group of general relativity corresponds to arbitrary coordinate transformations on a four-manifold. Theories of gravity with a dynamical structure remarkably like Einstein's theory can be obtained on the basis of…
That preferred-frame theory accounts for special relativity and reduces to it if the gravitation field cancels. Starting from an interpretation of gravity as a pressure force, it is based on just one scalar field. This scalar gives the…
General relativity dynamics can be derived from different actions -- which depart from the Einstein-Hilbert action in boundary terms -- and for different choices of the dynamical variables. Among them, the teleparallel equivalent of general…
We propose a deepening of the relativity principle according to which the invariant arena for non-quantum physics is a phase space rather than spacetime. Descriptions of particles propagating and interacting in spacetimes are constructed by…
We advance an universal approach to the construction of kinematics in non-inertial and, in particular, rotating reference frames. On its basis a 10-dimensional space including three projections of velocity vector and three turn angles in…
It is tempting to raise the issue of (metric) chaos in general relativity since the Einstein equations are a set of highly nonlinear equations which may exhibit dynamically very complicated solutions for the space-time metric. However, in…
Consistent interactions that can be added to a free, Abelian gauge theory comprising a BF model and a finite set of massless real scalar fields are constructed from the deformation of the solution to the master equation based on specific…
Scale invariance has received very little attention in physics. Nevertheless, it provides a natural conceptual foundation for a relational understanding of the universe, where absolute size loses meaning and only dimensionless ratios retain…
An argument is made to show that the singularity in the General Theory of Relativity (GTR) is the expression of a non-Machian feature. It can be avoided with a scale-invariant dynamical theory, a property lacking in GTR. It is further…