Title: General Covariance and Background Independence in Quantum Gravity
Abstract: The history of general relativity suggests that in absence of experi-
mental data, constructing a theory on philosophical first principles can
lead to a very useful theory as well as to ground-breaking insights about
physical reality. The two related concepts of general covariance and back-
ground independence are some of these principles and play a central role
in general relativity. A definition for them will be proposed and discussed.
Constructing a theory of quantum gravity – the sought-after unifica-
tion of general relativity and quantum mechanics – could profit from the
same approach. Two popular research areas of quantum gravity, string
theory and loop quantum gravity together with spin foams, are being
examined whether they comply with these principles.
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-07-02
Language: en
Type: preprint
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 3
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