Related papers: Beables/Observables in Classical and Quantum Gravi…
A review is given of the canonical reduction of gauge and relativistic particle theories and of a new covariant rest-frame instant form of dynamics according to Dirac's theory of constraints
Change and local spatial variation are missing in Hamiltonian General Relativity according to the most common definition of observables (0 Poisson bracket with all first-class constraints). But other definitions have been proposed. Seeking…
In the Dirac bracket approach to dynamical systems with second class constraints observables are represented by elements of a quotient Dirac bracket algebra. We describe families of new realizations of this algebra through quotients of the…
We investigate the fate of diffeomorphisms when the radial gauge is imposed in canonical general relativity. As shown elsewhere, the radial gauge is closely related to the observer's observables. These observables are invariant under a…
In ordinary Quantum Mechanics only ideally instantaneous observations of a quantity or a set of compatible quantities are usually considered. In an old paper of our group in Milano a formalism was introduced for the continuous monitoring of…
A brief discussion is given of measurement within the context of a theory of "beables", e.g. theories of de Broglie, Bohm, Bell, Vink, and also "modal" theories. It is shown that even in an ideal von Neumann measurement of a beable, the…
In this work we will consider the concepts of partial and complete observables for canonical general relativity. These concepts provide a method to calculate Dirac observables. The central result of this work is that one can compute Dirac…
We combine the "evolving constants" approach to the construction of observables in canonical quantum gravity with the Page--Wootters formulation of quantum mechanics with a relational time for generally covariant systems. This overcomes the…
It is shown that the Dirac-Nambu-Goto brane can be described as a point particle in an infinite dimensional space with a particular metric. This can be considered as a special case of a general theory in which branes are points in the brane…
Quantum gravity is sometimes considered as a kind of metaphysical speculation. In this review, we show that, although still extremely difficult to reach, observational signatures can in fact be expected. The early universe is an invaluable…
We consider "unphysical", kinematic observables that do not commute with the constraints of a gauge system in the context of an extension of the system. We show that these observables, while not predictable, can nevertheless be said to have…
Founding our analysis on the Geneva-Brussels approach to the foundations of physics, we provide a clarification and classification of the key concept of observation. An entity can be observed with or without a scope. In the second case, the…
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…
We discuss the generic phenomenology of quantum gravity and, in particular, argue that the observable effects of quantum gravity, associated with new, extended, non-local, non-particle-like quanta, and accompanied by a dynamical…
In theories with a diffeomorphism symmetry, such as general relativity and canonical quantum gravity, it is often proposed that the empirical content is encoded in relational observables. But how do relational observables actually make…
The assignment of local observables in the vacuum sector, fulfilling the standard axioms of local quantum theory, is known to determine uniquely a compact group G of gauge transformations of the first kind together with a central involutive…
In this paper we consider the observables describing fundamental spatiotemporal properties and relations in the context of Quantum Gravity (QG). As we will show, in both Loop Quantum Gravity and in String Theory, these observables are…
Quantum theory famously entails the existence of incompatible measurements; pairs of observables which cannot be simultaneously measured to arbitrary precision. Incompatibility is widely regarded to be a uniquely quantum phenomenon, linked…
The canonical quantization of diffeomorphism invariant theories of connections in terms of loop variables is revisited. Such theories include general relativity described in terms of Ashtekar-Barbero variables and extension to Yang-Mills…
Classical, Quantum and Relativistic mechanics elect time and space as fundamentals, extracting the measure of motion -velocity- from this static space-time platform. Conversely, the timelessness of Statistical mechanics computes the…