Related papers: The Value of Singularities
Quantum gravity is expected to be necessary in order to understand situations where classical general relativity breaks down. In particular in cosmology one has to deal with initial singularities, i.e. the fact that the backward evolution…
A fundamental length is introduced into physics in a way which respects the principles of relativity and quantum field theory. This improves the properties of quantum field theory: divergences are removed. How to quantize gravity is also…
The aim of this article is to promote the use of probabilistic methods in the study of problems in mathematical general relativity. Two new and simple singularity theorems, whose features are different from the classical singularity…
It is shown that there are static spacetimes with timelike curvature singularities which appear completely nonsingular when probed with quantum test particles. Examples include extreme dilatonic black holes and the fundamental string…
The possibility of avoiding the big bang singularity by means of a generalized uncertainty principle is investigated. In relation with this matter, the statistical mechanics of a free-particle system obeying the generalized uncertainty…
Spherically symmetric space-times provide many examples for interesting black hole solutions, which classically are all singular. Following a general program, space-like singularities in spherically symmetric quantum geometry, as well as…
Black holes are one of the most fascinating predictions of general relativity. They are the natural product of the complete gravitational collapse of matter and today we have a body of observational evidence supporting the existence of…
Although the standard viewpoint in theoretical physics is that the unification of quantum theory and general relativity requires the quantization of gravity and spacetime, there is not consensus about whether spacetime must fundamentally…
This paper compares recent approaches appearing in the literature on the singularity problem for space-times with nonvanishing torsion.
Is there a number for every bit of spacetime, or is spacetime smooth like the real line? The ultimate fate of a quantum theory of gravity might depend on it. The troublesome infinities of quantum gravity can be cured by assuming that…
Gravitational collapse is one of the most striking phenomena in gravitational physics. The cosmic censorship conjecture has provided strong motivation for researches in this field. In the absence of general proof for the censorship, many…
In a recent paper [1], it was introduced a new class of gravitational theories with two local degrees of freedom. The existence of these theories apparently challenges the distinctive role of general relativity as the unique non-linear…
Among the various attempts to formulate a theory of quantum gravity, a class of approaches suggests that spacetime, as modeled by general relativity, is destined to fade away. A major issue becomes then to identify which structures may…
In this article, we review and discuss different aspects of stability and genericity of some properties of space-times which occur in various contexts in the General Theory of Relativity. We also give argument supporting the conclusion that…
I discuss singular spacetimes in the context of the geometrized formulation of Newtonian gravitation. I argue first that geodesic incompleteness is a natural criterion for when a model of geometrized Newtonian gravitation is singular, and…
Singularity theorems demonstrate the inevitable breakdown of the concept of continuous, classical spacetime under highly general conditions. Quantum gravity is expected to intervene to avoid singularities and models so far hint towards…
In this article, we examine the possibility that there exist special scalar-tensor theories of gravity with completely nonsingular FRW solutions. Our investigation in fact shows that while most probes living in such a Universe never see the…
The proof that a consistent theory of gravity cannot be constructed in a flat spacetime rests on the {\it assumption} that atoms be equal in every conditions. However special relativity and the principle of equivalence impose that atoms are…
Spacetime singularities have been discovered which are physically much weaker than those predicted by the classical singularity theorems. Geodesics evolve through them and they only display infinities in the derivatives of their curvature…
Singularities in Newton's gravitation, in general relativity (GR), in Coulomb's law, and elsewhere in classical physics, stem from two ill conceived assumptions: a) there are point-like entities with finite masses, charges, etc., packed in…