Related papers: The Geometrical Trinity of Gravity
This is an introduction to quantum gravity, aimed at a fairly general audience and concentrating on what have historically two main approaches to quantum gravity: the covariant and canonical programs (string theory is not covered). The…
We consider the most general action for gravity which is quadratic in curvature. In this case first order and second order formalisms are not equivalent. This framework is a good candidate for a unitary and renormalizable theory of the…
We propose a "guide" towards quantisation of gravity based on quantum matter in a statistical mechanics context. On one hand, a statistical mechanics model naturally arises from the thermodynamic interpretation of horizons in Rindler space.…
Gravity is derived from an entropic action coupling matter fields with geometry. The fundamental idea is to relate the metric of Lorentzian spacetime to a quantum operator, playing the role of an renormalizable effective density matrix and…
A unified description of all interactions could be based on a higher-dimensional theory involving only spinor fields. The metric arises as a composite object and the gravitational field equations contain torsion-corrections as compared to…
We present a classical theory of gravity, which is singularity free at short distances and reduces to General Relativity at large distances. We discuss its implications.
A formulation of linearized gravity which is manifestly invariant under electric-magnetic duality rotations in the internal space of the metric and its dual, and which contains both metrics as basic variables (rather than the corresponding…
Spacetime geometry is described by two -- {\em a priori} independent -- geometric structures: the symmetric connection $\Gamma$ and the metric tensor $g$. Metricity condition of $\Gamma$ (i.e. $\nabla g = 0$) is implied by the Palatini…
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…
We present several theories of four-dimensional gravity in the Plebanski formulation, in which the tetrads and the connections are the independent dynamical variables. We consider the relation between different versions of gravitational…
Starting with Newton's law of universal gravitation, we generalize it step-by-step to obtain Einstein's geometric theory of gravity. Newton's gravitational potential satisfies the Poisson equation. We relate the potential to a component of…
Among relativistic theories of gravitation the closest ones to general relativity are the scalar-tensor ones and these with Lagrangians being any function f(R) of the curvature scalar. A complete chart of relationships between these…
The equations of motion describing all physical systems, except gravity, remain invariant if a constant is added to the Lagrangian. In the conventional approach, gravitational theories break this symmetry exhibited by all other physical…
A covariant reformulation of General Relativity is briefly considered from three points of view: geometrodynamics, Lagrange-Euler field theory, and gauge field theory. From a geometrodynamics perspective, a definition of the reference frame…
It is argued that quantum gravity has an interpretation as a topological field theory provided a certain constraint from the path intergral measure is respected. The constraint forces us to couple gauge and matter fields to gravity for…
It is known that General Relativity ({\bf GR}) uses Lorentzian Manifold $(M_4;g)$ as a geometrical model of the physical space-time. $M_4$ means here a four-dimensional differentiable manifold endowed with Lorentzian metric $g$. The metric…
We construct a topological field theory which, on the one hand, generalizes BF theories in that there is non-trivial coupling to `topological matter fields'; and, on the other, generalizes the three-dimensional model of Carlip and Gegenberg…
Motivated by the apparent dependence of string $\sigma$--models on the sum of spacetime metric and antisymmetric tensor fields, we reconsider gravity theories constructed from a nonsymmetric metric. We first show that all such "geometrical"…
In general relativity, the only dynamical field describing the gravitational interaction of matter, is the metric. It induces the causal structure of spacetime, governs the motion of physical bodies through its Levi-Civita connection, and…
The field equations of a generalized $f(R)$ type gravity model, in which there is an arbitrary coupling between matter and geometry, are obtained. The equations of motion for test particles are derived from a variational principle in the…