Related papers: Same-diff? Conceptual similarities between gauge t…
The following questions are germane to our understanding of gauge-(in)variant quantities and physical possibility: how are gauge transformations and spacetime diffeomorphisms understood as symmetries, in which ways are they similar, and in…
We discuss the relation between spacetime diffeomorphisms and gauge transformations in theories of the Yang-Mills type coupled with Einstein's General Relativity. We show that local symmetries of the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formalisms of…
Symmetries and isomorphisms play similar conceptual roles when we consider how models represent physical situations, but they are formally distinct, as two models related by symmetries are not typically isomorphic. I offer a rigorous…
We discuss some aspects of the relation between dualities and gauge symmetries. Both of these ideas are of course multi-faceted, and we confine ourselves to making two points. Both points are about dualities in string theory, and both have…
The application of the notion of `observable' from gauge theory to diffeomorphism-invariant theories -- most relevantly to general relativity -- has led to numerous conceptual and technical issues when interpreting classical theories with…
The fundamental symmetries in gravity and gauge theories, formulated using differential forms, are gauge transformations and diffeomorphisms. These symmetries act in distinct ways on different dynamical fields. Yet, the commutator of these…
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…
We introduce the natural lift of spacetime diffeomorphisms for conformal gravity and discuss the physical equivalence between the natural and gauge natural structure of the theory. Accordingly, we argue that conformal transformations must…
Gauge symmetries play a central role, both in the mathematical foundations as well as the conceptual construction of modern (particle) physics theories. However, it is yet unclear whether they form a necessary component of theories, or…
We analyze carefully the problem of gauge symmetries for Bianchi models, from both the geometrical and dynamical points of view. Some of the geometrical definitions of gauge symmetries (=``homogeneity preserving diffeomorphisms'') given in…
We make some general remarks on long-ranged configurations in gauge or diffeomorphism invariant theories where the fields are allowed to assume some non vanishing values at spatial infinity. In this case the Gauss constraint only eliminates…
The focus of the present thesis is on the analysis of gauge symmetry and its various impacts on gauge theories. In the first part of this thesis, we have studied different aspects of symmetries in connection with various field and string…
This is the first of a couple of papers in which, by exploiting the capabilities of the Hamiltonian approach to general relativity, we get a number of technical achievements that are instrumental both for a disclosure of \emph{new} results…
Gauging a symmetry can be thought of as the insertion of a spacetime-filling defect. Accordingly, we regard each gaugeable symmetry in a theory as defining a $-1$-form symmetry via condensation. The resulting operators, called gauge…
Gauge symmetries are often highlighted as a fundamental cornerstone of modern physics. But at the same time, it is commonly emphasized that gauge symmetries are not a fundamental feature of nature but merely redundancies in our description.…
Gauge symmetries lead to first-class constraints. This assertion is of course true only for non trivial gauge symmetries, i.e., gauge symmetries that act non trivially on-shell on the dynamical variables. We illustrate this well-appreciated…
A systematic analysis of the symmetries of topological 3D gravity with torsion and a cosmological term, in the first order formalism, has been performed in details - both in the hamiltonian and lagrangian formalisms. This illuminates the…
Gauge symmetries emerge from a redundant description of the effective action for light degrees of freedom after the decoupling of heavy modes. This redundant description avoids the use of explicit constraints in configuration space. For…
We review and discuss the role of diffeomorphism symmetry in quantum gravity models. Such models often involve a discretization of the space-time manifold as a regularization method. Generically this leads to a breaking of the symmetries to…
Shape dynamics is a classical theory of gravity which agrees with general relativity in many important cases, but possesses different gauge symmetries and constraints. Rather than spacetime diffeomorphism invariance, shape dynamics takes…