Related papers: Why does D=4, rather than more (or less)? An Orwel…
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…
It is shown that the local coupling of a higher dimensional graviton to a closed degenerate two-form produces dimensional reduction by spontaneous breakdown of extra-dimensional translational symmetry. Four dimensional Poincar\'e invariance…
We show that various dynamical gauge theories in two, three and four dimensions, obtained as Manin deformations of topological Alexandrov-Kontsevich-Schwarz-Zaboronsky (AKSZ) theories, are equivalent to gravitational theories. Since gravity…
Why is space 3-dimensional? The first answer to this question, entirely based on Physics, was given by Ehrenfest, in 1917, who showed that the stability requirement for $n$-dimensional two-body planetary system very strongly constrains…
In contemporary physics space and time are intertwined entities so that kinematical and dynamical quantities are expressed in the four-dimensional space-time. This formulation seems to contradict our every-day experience and perception…
A set of diverse but mutually consistent results obtained in different settings has spawned a new view of loop quantum gravity and its physical implications, based on the interplay of operator calculations and effective theory: Quantum…
When we discuss problems on gravity, we can not avoid some fundamental physical problems, such as space-time, inertia, and inertial reference frame. The goal of this paper is to discuss the logic system of gravity theory and the problems of…
We study the Carrollian limit of the (general) quadratic gravity in four dimensions. We find that in order for the Carrollian theory to be a modification of the Carrollian limit of general relativity, the parameters in the action must…
A variational principle is applied to 4D Euclidean space provided with a tensor refractive index, defining what can be seen as 4-dimensional optics (4DO). The geometry of such space is analysed, making no physical assumptions of any kind.…
A viable quantum theory of gravity is one of the biggest challenges facing physicists. We discuss the confluence of two highly expected features which might be instrumental in the quest of a finite and renormalizable quantum gravity --…
We describe a model where breaking of W3 symmetry will lead to the emergence of time and subsequently of space. Surprisingly the simplest such models which lead to higher dimensional spacetimes are based on the four "magical" Jordan…
Dimensional reduction of generalized gravity theories or string theories generically yields dilaton fields in the lower-dimensional effective theory. Thus at the level of D=4 theories, and cosmology many models contain more than just one…
Hints from a number of different approaches to quantum gravity point to a phenomenon of "spontaneous dimensional reduction" to two spacetime dimensions near the Planck scale. I examine the physical meaning of the term "dimension" in this…
The Einstein-Cartan theory of gravitation and the classical theory of defects in an elastic medium are presented and compared. The former is an extension of general relativity and refers to four-dimensional space-time, while we introduce…
Whether or not space-time is fundamentally discrete is of central importance for the development of the theory of quantum gravity. If the fundamental description of space-time is discrete, typically represented in terms of a graph or…
A new approach to the model of the universe based on work by Rippl, Romero, Tavakol is presented. We have used the scheme for relating the vacuum (D + 1) dimensional theories to D dimensional theories for setting up a correspondence between…
Space-Time in general relativity is a dynamical entity because it is subject to the Einstein field equations. The space-time metric provides different geometrical structures: conformal, volume, projective and linear connection. A deep…
Witten has presented an argument for the vanishing of the cosmological constant in 2+1 dimensions. This argument is crucially tied to the specific properties of (2+1)-dimensional gravity. We argue that this reasoning can be deconstructed to…
Faced with the persisting problem of the unification of gravity with other fundamental interactions we investigate the possibility of a new paradigm, according to which the basic space of physics is a multidimensional space ${\cal C}$…
A method has been recently proposed for defining an arbitrary number of differential calculi over a given noncommutative associative algebra. As an example a version of quantized space-time is considered here. It is found that there is a…