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We formally prove the existence of a quantization procedure that makes the path integral of a general diffeomorphism-invariant theory of gravity, with fixed total spacetime volume, equivalent to that of its unimodular version. This is…
Based on a family of indefinite unitary representations of the diffeomorphism group of an oriented smooth $4$-manifold, a manifestly covariant $4$ dimensional and non-perturbative algebraic quantum field theory formulation of gravity is…
We further develop a noncommutative model unifying quantum mechanics and general relativity proposed in {\it Gen. Rel. Grav.} (2004) {\bf 36}, 111-126. Generalized symmetries of the model are defined by a groupoid $\Gamma $ given by the…
Electromagnetism is the paradigm case of a theory that satisfies relativistic locality. This can be proven by demonstrating that, once the theory's laws are imposed, what is happening within a region fixes what will happen in the…
We introduce a general approximation scheme in order to calculate gauge invariant observables in the canonical formulation of general relativity. Using this scheme we will show how the observables and the dynamics of field theories on a…
A deformation of the algebra of diffeomorphisms is constructed for canonically deformed spaces with constant deformation parameter theta. The algebraic relations remain the same, whereas the comultiplication rule (Leibniz rule) is different…
One of the main technical obstacles in constructing a consistent theory of quantum gravity is that the metric itself defines the causal structure required for quantization. This motivates implementing quantum aspects of gravity through an…
In a companion paper we studied field theory in the presence of a physical observer with quantum dynamics. Here we describe the most striking consequence of this assumption: new gauge and diff anomalies arise. The relevant cocycles depend…
The conflict between relativistic causality and localizability is analyzed in the light of the existence of unsharp localization observables. A theorem due to S. Schlieder is generalized, showing that the assumption of local commutativity…
In ordinary quantum field theory, one can define the algebra of observables in a given region in spacetime, but in the presence of gravity, it is expected that this notion ceases to be well-defined. A substitute that appears to make sense…
A four dimensional generally covariant field theory is presented which describes non-dynamical three geometries coupled to scalar fields. The theory has an infinite number of physical observables (or constants of the motion) which are…
Recent works in foundations of quantum (field) theory and relativistic quantum information try to better grasp the interplay between the structure of quantum correlations and the constraints imposed by causality on physical operations.…
Quantum gravity is likely the deepest problem facing current physics. While traditionally associated with short distance nonrenormalizability, it is evident that the long distance problem of unitarity, arising at high energies with black…
The quantum analogue of general relativistic geometry should be implementable on smooth manifolds without an a priori metric structure, the kinematical covariance group acting by diffeomorphisms. Here I approach quantum gravity (QG) in the…
A class of diffeomorphism invariant, physical observables, so-called astrometric observables, is introduced. A particularly simple example, the time delay, which expresses the difference between two initially synchronized proper time clocks…
The relation between manifold topology, observables and gauge group is clarified on the basis of the classification of the representations of the algebra of observables associated to positions and displacements on the manifold. The guiding,…
As the theory is subject to a section condition, coordinates in double field theory do not represent physical points in an injective manner. We argue that a physical point should be rather one-to-one identified with a `gauge orbit' in the…
Characteristics of observers in relativity theory are critically examined. For field measurements in Minkowski spacetime, the Bohr-Rosenfeld principle implies that the connection between actual (i.e., noninertial) and inertial observers…
Tensor networks prepare states that share many features of states in quantum gravity. However, standard constructions are not diffeomorphism invariant and do not support an algebra of non-commuting area operators. Recently, analogues of…
Diffeomorphisms and an internal symmetry (e.g., local Lorentz invariance) are typically regarded as the symmetries of any geometrical gravity theory, including general relativity. In the first-order formalism, diffeomorphisms can be thought…