Related papers: Two Dogmas of Dynamicism
The notion that the geometry of our space-time is not only a static background but can be physically dynamic is well established in general relativity. Geometry can be described as shaped by the presence of matter, where such shaping…
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…
There are two strong clues about the quantum structure of spacetime and the gravitational dynamics, which are almost universally ignored in the conventional approaches to quantize gravity. The first clue is that null surfaces exhibit…
Riemann's principle "force equals geometry" provided the basis for Einstein's General Relativity - the geometric theory of gravitation. In this paper, we follow this principle to derive the dynamics for any static, conservative force. The…
Contemporary relativity theory is restricted in two points: (1) a use of the Riemannian space-time geometry and (2) a use of inadequate (nonrelativistic) concepts. Reasons of these restrictions are analysed in [1]. Eliminating these…
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…
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…
In a natural extension of the relativity principle we argue that a quantum theory of gravity involves two fundamental scales associated with both dynamical space-time as well as dynamical momentum space. This view of quantum gravity is…
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…
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…
As Harvey Brown emphasizes in his book Physical Relativity, inertial motion in general relativity is best understood as a theorem, and not a postulate. Here I discuss the status of the "conservation condition", which states that the…
Doubly special relativity has been studied for the last twenty years as a way to go beyond the special relativistic kinematics, trying to capture residual effects of a quantum gravity theory. In particular, in doubly special relativity the…
Einstein's special theory of relativity starts with assumptions about how observations conducted in relatively moving inertial frames must compare. From these assumptions, conclusions can be drawn regarding the laws of physics in any one…
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…
Do the spacetime manifolds which feature in our best scientific theories reflect anything metaphysically weighty in the world (e.g., any fundamental substances or relations)? Should we extend our notions of space and time beyond the…
In the present manuscript, I examine an intriguing relation at the classical level between general relativity and a theory where matter couples uniquely multiplicatively to geometry in the Lagrangian density. Interestingly, the…
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…
By following the general guiding principle that nothing should be prescribed or imposed on the universal entity, spacetime, we establish that it is the homogeneity (by which we mean homogeneity and isotropy of space and homogeneity of time)…
Classical gravity can be described as a relational dynamical system without ever appealing to spacetime or its geometry. This description is the so-called shape dynamics description of gravity. The existence of relational first principles…
A holistic view of the cosmological appearance and development of space is obtained by studying space as a spherically closed surface of a 4-sphere in a zero energy balance between motion and gravitation. Such an approach re-establishes…