Related papers: Absolute spacetime: the twentieth century ether
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…
When joined the unified gauge picture of fundamental interactions, the gravitation theory leads to geometry of a space-time which is far from simplicity of pseudo-Riemannian geometry of Einstein's General Relativity. This is geometry of the…
The metric of a spacetime can be greatly simplified if the spacetime is circular. We prove that in generic effective theories of gravity, the spacetime of a stationary, axisymmetric and asymptotically flat solution must be circular if the…
The spacetime structure of the spatially uniformly expanding universe is described in terms of a kind of global space and global time instead of the space and time we usually recognize. The global space at some instant is a space in which…
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…
General relativity promotes space-time to a physical, dynamical object subject to equations of motion. Quantum gravity, accordingly, must provide a quantum framework for space-time, applicable on the smallest distance scales. Just like…
Motivated by hints of the effective emergent nature of spacetime structure, we formulate a spacetime-free algebraic framework for quantum theory, in which no a priori background geometric structure is required. Such a framework is necessary…
In spacetime physics, we frequently need to consider a set of all spaces (`universes') as a whole. In particular, the concept of `closeness' between spaces is essential. However, there has been no established mathematical theory so far…
Why is the manifold topology in a spacetime taken for granted? Why do we prefer to use Riemann open balls as basic-open sets, while there also exists a Lorentz metric? Which topology is a best candidate for a spacetime; a topology…
The null-surface formulation of general relativity -- recently introduced -- provides novel tools for describing the gravitational field, as well as a fresh physical way of viewing it. The new formulation provides ``local'' observables…
Any acceptable quantum gravity theory must allow us to recover the classical spacetime in the appropriate limit. Moreover, the spacetime geometrical notions should be intrinsically tied to the behavior of the matter that probes them. We…
Our assumption that spacetime is a continuum leads to many challenges in mathematical physics. Singularities, divergent integrals and the like threaten many of our favorite theories, from Newtonian gravity to classical electrodynamics,…
A homothetic, static, spherically symmetric solution to the massless Einstein- Klein-Gordon equations is described. There is a curvature singularity which is central, null, bifurcate and marginally trapped. The space-time is therefore…
It is shown that, with some reasonable assumptions, the theory of general relativity can be made compatible with quantum mechanics by using the field equations of general relativity to construct a Robertson-Walker metric for a quantum…
The Einstein theories of space-time and gravity as well the stander cosmology are reconstructed thoroughly in this paper based on flat reference frame. The rational parts of the Einstein theories are reserved while the irrational parts…
General relativity treats spacetime as dynamical and exhibits its breakdown at singularities. This failure is interpreted as evidence that quantum gravity is not a theory formulated within spacetime; instead, it must explain the very…
We consider general relativity with a cosmological constant as a perturbative expansion around a completely solvable diffeomorphism invariant field theory. This theory is the $\Lambda\to\infty$ limit of general relativity. This allows an…
The notion of ``fundamental constant'' is heavily theory-laden. A natural, fairly precise formulation is possible in the context of the standard model (here defined to include gravity). Some fundamental constants have profound geometric…
Conceptual difficulties in semiclassical and quantum gravity arise from diffeomorphism invariance of classical general relativity. With a motivation to shed some light on these difficulties, we study a class of toy models for which…
Our conventional system of physical units is based on local or microscopic {\it dimensional} quantities which are {\it defined}, for convenience or otherwise aesthetic reasons, to be spacetime-independent. A more general choice of units may…