Related papers: Same-diff? Conceptual similarities between gauge t…
In pregeometry a metric arises as a composite object at large distances. We investigate if its signature, which distinguishes between time and space, could be a result of the dynamics rather than being built in already in the formulation of…
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…
In General Relativity and gauge field theory, one often encounters a claim, which may be called the boundary problem, according to which "boundaries break diffeomorphism and gauge symmetries". We argue that this statement has the same…
The gauge symmetry is one of the most important concepts in modern physics, but there are two conflicting views on its meaning or interpretation. The standard view is that local gauge symmetry is the basis of the pursue of fundamental…
We propose a new point of view to gauge theories based on taking the action of symmetry transformations directly on the coordinates of space. Via this approach the gauge fields are not introduced at the first step, and they can be…
Position and momentum enter at the same level of importance in the formulation of classical or quantum mechanics. This is reflected in the invariance of Poisson brackets or quantum commutators under canonical transformations, which I regard…
In this essay I begin to lay out a conceptual scheme for: (i) analysing dualities as cases of theoretical equivalence; (ii) assessing when cases of theoretical equivalence are also cases of physical equivalence. The scheme is applied to…
In general relativity, the strong equivalence principle is underpinned by a geometrical interpretation of fields on spacetime: all fields and bodies probe the same geometry. This geometric interpretation implies that the parallel transport…
In this paper we study U(1) gauge transformations on the space-time coordinates and on the background fields $g_{\mu\nu}$ and $\phi$. For some special gauge functions, gauged coordinates and gauged U(1) field are equivalent to the rotated…
We consider the deformation theory of two kinds of geometric objects: foliations on one hand, pre-symplectic forms on the other. For each of them, we prove that the geometric notion of equivalence given by isotopies agrees with the…
In the first part of the thesis we focus on local symmetries. We review a self-consistent framework that we employed in order to discuss the dynamics of the theories of interest. Its merit lies in that we can make the symmetry group act…
Gauge theories of conformal spacetime symmetries are presented which merge features of Yang-Mills theory and general relativity in a new way. The models are local but nonpolynomial in the gauge fields, with a nonpolynomial structure that…
We report a new internal gauge symmetry of the n-dimensional Palatini action with cosmological term (n>3) that is the generalization of three-dimensional local translations. This symmetry is obtained through the direct application of the…
I examine the relationship between $(d+1)$-dimensional Poincar\'e metrics and $d$-dimensional conformal manifolds, from both mathematical and physical perspectives. The results have a bearing on several conceptual issues relating to…
In previous work [Rosenbaum M. et al., J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 40 (2007), 10367-10382, hep-th/0611160] we have shown how for canonical parametrized field theories, where space-time is placed on the same footing as the other fields in the…
There is solid consensus among physicists and philosophers that, in gauge field theory, for a quantity to be physically meaningful or real, it must be gauge-invariant. Yet, every "elementary" field in the Standard Model of particle physics…
Deformations of spacelike hypersurfaces in space-time play an important role in discussions of general covariance and slicing independence in gravitational theories. In a canonical formulation, they provide the geometrical meaning of gauge…
Comparing and recognizing metrics can be extraordinarily difficult because of the group of diffeomorphisms. Two metrics, that could even be the same, could look completely different in different coordinates. This is the gauge problem. The…
Many theories of physical interest, which admit a Hamiltonian description, exhibit symmetries under a particular class of non - strictly canonical transformation, known as dynamical similarities. The presence of such symmetries allows a…
Using the parametrised representation of field theory (in which the location in spacetime of a part of a field is itself represented by a map from the base manifold to Minkowski spacetime) I demonstrate that in both local and global cases,…