Related papers: Diffeomorphism Invariant Theories and Vector Super…
Transverse Diffeomorphism (TDiff) theories are well-motivated theories of gravity from the quantum perspective, which are based upon a gauge symmetry principle. The main contribution of this work is to firmly establish a correspondence…
For a field theory that is invariant under diffeomorphisms there is a subtle interplay between symmetries, conservation laws and the phase space of the theory. The natural language for describing these ideas is that of differential forms…
We examine the variational and conformal structures of higher order theories of gravity which are derived from a metric-connection Lagrangian that is an arbitrary function of the curvature invariants. We show that the constrained first…
We present a formulation of gravity in terms of a theory based on complex SU(2) gauge fields with a general coordinate invariant action functional quadratic in the field strength. Self-duality or anti-self-duality of the field strength…
The configuration space of general relativity is superspace - the space of all Riemannian 3-metrics modulo diffeomorphisms. However, it has been argued that the configuration space for gravity should be conformal superspace - the space 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…
A general $f(\mathcal{R})$ gravitational theory is considered within the Palatini formalism. By applying the variational principle and the usual conditions on the boundary, we show explicitly that a surface term remains such that as in…
Spinor gravity is a functional integral formulation of gravity based only on fundamental spinor fields. The vielbein and metric arise as composite objects. Due to the lack of local Lorentz-symmetry new invariants in the effective…
We introduce a gauge and diffeomorphism invariant theory on Yang-Mills phase space. The theory is well defined for an arbitrary gauge group with an invariant bilinear form, it contains only first class constraints, and the spacetime metric…
We put forward the idea that in addition to diffeomorphism invariance of general relativity (GR) the gravitational interaction is invariant under arbitrary scale-deformations of the metric field. In addition, we assume that the scaling…
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…
The standard forms of supersymmetry and supergravity are inextricably wedded to Lorentz invariance. Here a Lorentz-violating form of supergravity is proposed. The superpartners have exotic properties that are not possible in a theory with…
Motivated by the apparent dependence of string $\sigma$--models on the sum of spacetime metric and antisymmetric tensor fields, we reconsider gravity theories constructed from a nonsymmetric metric. We first show that all such "geometrical"…
We derive the field equations and the equations of motion for massive test particles in modified theories of gravity with an arbitrary coupling between geometry and matter by using the Palatini formalism. We show that the independent…
Isometrodynamics (ID), the gauge theory of the group of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms of an "inner" D-dimensional flat space, is tentatively interpreted as a fundamental theory of gravity. Dimensional analysis shows that the Planck…
In contrast to electrodynamics, Einstein's gravitation equations are not invariant with respect to a wide class of the mapping of field variables which leave equations of motion of test particles in a given coordinate system invariant. It…
Some first results are presented regarding the behavior of invariant correlations in simplicial gravity, with an action containing both a bare cosmological term and a lattice higher derivative term. The determination of invariant…
The configuration space of general relativity is superspace - the space of all Riemannian 3-metrics modulo diffeomorphisms. However, it has been argued that the configuration space for gravity should be conformal superspace - the space of…
A Palatini-type action for Einstein and Gauss-Bonnet gravity with non-trivial torsion is proposed. Three-form flux is incorporated via a deformation of the Riemann tensor, and consistency of the Palatini variational principle requires the…
The infinite group of deformed diffeomorphisms of the spacetime continuum is put into the basis of the gauge theory of gravity. This gives rise to some new ways for unification of gravity with other gauge interactions.