Related papers: Beyond Space And Time
This is an introductory set of lecture notes on quantum cosmology, given in 1995 to an audience with interests ranging from astronomy to particle physics. Topics covered: 1. Introduction: 1.1 Quantum cosmology and quantum gravity; 1.2 A…
Loop Quantum Gravity is a theory that attempts to describe the quantum mechanics of the gravitational field based on the canonical quantization of General Relativity. According to Loop Quantum Gravity, in a gravitational field, geometric…
General relativity successfully describes space-times at scales that we can observe and probe today, but it cannot be complete as a consequence of singularity theorems. For a long time there have been indications that quantum gravity will…
In this contribution to the conference "Beyond Einstein: Historical Perspectives on Geometry, Gravitation and Cosmology in the Twentieth Century", we give a critical status report of attempts to explain the late accelerated expansion of the…
The recognition that physical space (or space-time) is curved is a product of the general theory of relativity, such as dramatically shown by the 1919 solar eclipse measurements. However, the mathematical possibility of non-Euclidean…
In general relativity (GR), spacetime geometry is no longer just a background arena but a physical and dynamical entity with its own degrees of freedom. We present an overview of approaches to quantum gravity in which this central feature…
The roles that spin networks play in gauge theories, quantum gravity and topological quantum field theory are briefly described, with an emphasis on the question of the relationships among them. It is argued that spin networks and their…
Quantum gravity (or quantum spacetime) is to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics into a single theoretical framework and presented as the most important open puzzle in fundamental physics. The development of a microscopic theory…
This paper proposes a method of unifying quantum mechanics and gravity based on quantum computation. In this theory, fundamental processes are described in terms of pairwise interactions between quantum degrees of freedom. The geometry of…
In this chapter we take up the quantum Riemannian geometry of a spatial slice of spacetime. While researchers are still facing the challenge of observing quantum gravity, there is a geometrical core to loop quantum gravity that does much to…
A set of observables is described for the topological quantum field theory which describes quantum gravity in three space-time dimensions with positive signature and positive cosmological constant. The simplest examples measure the…
This essay is a tour around many of the lesser known pregeometric models of physics, as well as the mainstream approaches to quantum gravity, in search of common themes which may provide a glimpse of the final theory which must lie behind…
An algebraic formulation of Riemannian geometry on quantum spaces is presented, where Riemannian metric, distance, Laplacian, connection, and curvature have their counterparts. This description is also extended to complex manifolds.…
This chapter gives an overview of the quantum aspects of black holes, focusing on the black hole information problem, the counting of black hole entropy in string theory, and the emergence of spacetime in holography. It is aimed at a broad…
Spin networks, the quantum states of discrete geometry in loop quantum gravity, are directed graphs whose links are labeled by irreducible representations of SU(2), or spins. Cosmic strings are 1-dimensional topological defects carrying…
Quantum gravity is the missing piece in our understanding of the fundamental interactions today. Given recent observational breakthroughs in gravity, providing a quantum theory for what lies beyond general relativity is more urgent than…
The geometry of Quantum Mechanics in the context of uncertainty and complementarity, and probability is explored. We extend the discussion of geometry of uncertainty relations in wider perspective. Also, we discuss the geometry of…
Einstein's dream of describing elementary particles as solutions of a classical field theory is severely limited by our current understanding of Nature. Quantum theory is inconsistent with any local realistic theory such as evolving…
We are entering an era where the numerical construction of generic spacetimes is becoming a reality. The use of computer simulations, in principle, allows us to solve Einstein equations in their full generality and unravel important…
We discuss new models of an `affine' theory of gravity in multidimensional space-times with symmetric connections. We use and develop ideas of Weyl, Eddington, and Einstein, in particular, Einstein's proposal to specify the space - time…