Related papers: The shape dynamics description of gravity
A new approach to the dynamics of the universe based on work by O Murchadha, Foster, Anderson and the author is presented. The only kinematics presupposed is the spatial geometry needed to define configuration spaces in purely relational…
The conventional role of spacetime geometry in the description of gravity is pointed out. Global Poincar$\acute{\mbox{e}}$ symmetry as an inner symmetry of field theories defined on a fixed Minkowski spacetime is discussed. Its extension to…
Barbour's interpretation of Mach's principle led him to postulate that gravity should be formulated as a dynamical theory of spatial conformal geometry, or in his terminology, "shapes." Recently, it was shown that the dynamics of General…
Shape dynamics is a completely background-independent universal framework of dynamical theories from which all absolute elements have been eliminated. For particles, only the variables that describe the shapes of the instantaneous particle…
I describe several conceptual aspects of a particular paradigm which treats the field equations of gravity as emergent. These aspects are related to the features of classical gravitational theories which defy explanation within the…
This thesis consists of two parts, connected by one central theme: the dynamics of the "shape of space". The first part of the thesis concerns the construction of a theory of gravity dynamically equivalent to general relativity (GR) in 3+1…
Newtonian gravity arises as the nonrelativistic, static, weak-field limit of some Lorentzian spacetime geometry solving the generally covariant Einstein equations for a given matter field configuration. Spacetime geometry has a local…
The absence of unique time evolution in Einstein's spacetime description of gravity leads to the hitherto unresolved `problem of time' in quantum gravity. Shape Dynamics is an objectively equivalent representation of gravity that trades…
Gravity, and the puzzle regarding its energy, can be understood from a gauge theory perspective. Gravity, i.e., dynamical spacetime geometry, can be considered as a local gauge theory of the symmetry group of Minkowski spacetime: the…
A consistent quantum theory of gravity has remained elusive ever since the emergence of General Relativity and Quantum Field Theory. Attempts to date have not yielded a candidate that is either free from problematic theoretical…
The dynamics of gravity can be described by two different systems. The first is the familiar spacetime picture of General Relativity, the other is the conformal picture of Shape Dynamics. We argue that the bulk equivalence of General…
In this PhD thesis, we develop a new approach to classical gravity starting from Mach's principles and the idea that the local shape of spatial configurations is fundamental. This new theory, "shape dynamics", is equivalent to general…
We give a first principles derivation of a master equation for the evolution of a quantum matter field in a linearly perturbed Minkowski spacetime, based solely on quantum field theory and general relativity. We make no additional…
Since the main open problem of contemporary physics is to find a unified description of the four interactions, we present a possible scenario which, till now only at the classical level, is able to englobe experiments ranging from…
Gravity is understood as a geometrization of spacetime. But spacetime is also the manifold of the boundary values of the spinless point particle in a variational approach. Since all known matter, baryons, leptons and gauge bosons are…
The gravity is classically formulated as the geometric curvature of the space-time in general relativity which is completely different from the other well-known physical forces. Since seeking a quantum framework for the gravity is a great…
I present the theoretical evidence which suggests that gravity is an emergent phenomenon like gas dynamics or elasticity with the gravitational field equations having the same status as, say, the equations of fluid dynamics/elasticity. This…
Shape Dynamics is a metric theory of pure gravity, equivalent to General Relativity, but formulated as a gauge theory of spatial diffeomporphisms and local spatial conformal transformations. In this paper we extend the construction of Shape…
According to General Relativity gravity is the result of the interaction between matter and space-time geometry. In this interaction space-time geometry itself is dynamical: it can store and transport energy and momentum in the form of…
Crucial observational tests of gravity physics are reviewed. Such tests are able to clarify the key question on the nature of gravitational interaction: is gravity the curvature of space? or is gravity a matter field in Minkowski flat space…