Approaches to Quantum Gravity: Toward a New Understanding of Space, Time and Matter

by Edited by Daniele Oriti

• ISBN13: 9780521860451
• ISBN10: 0521860458
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-27
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The theory of quantum gravity promises a revolutionary new understanding of gravity and spacetime, valid from microscopic to cosmological distances. Research in this field involves an exciting blend of rigorous mathematics and bold speculations, foundational questions and technical issues. Containing contributions from leading researchers in this field, this book presents the fundamental issues involved in the construction of a quantum theory of gravity and building up a quantum picture of space and time. It introduces the most current approaches to this problem, and reviews their main achievements. Each part ends in questions and answers, in which the contributors explore the merits and problems of the various approaches. This book provides a complete overview of this field from the frontiers of theoretical physics research for graduate students and researchers.

Author Biography

Daniele Oriti is a Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Potsdam, Germany, working on non-perturbative quantum gravity. He has previously worked at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Canada; the Institute of Theoretical Physics at Utrecht University, the Netherlands; and the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, UK. He is well known for his results on spin foam models, and is among the leading researchers in the group field theory approach to quantum gravity.

Table of Contents

List of contributors page	p. x
Preface	p. xv
Fundamental ideas and general formalisms	p. 1
Unfinished revolution	p. 3
The fundamental nature of space and time	p. 13
Does locality fail at intermediate length scales?	p. 26
Prolegomena to any future Quantum Gravity	p. 44
Spacetime symmetries in histories canonical gravity	p. 68
Categorical geometry and the mathematical foundations of Quantum Gravity	p. 84
Emergent relativity	p. 99
Asymptotic Safety	p. 111
New directions in background independent Quantum Gravity	p. 129
Questions and answers	p. 150
String/M-theory	p. 167
Gauge/gravity duality	p. 169
String theory, holography and Quantum Gravity	p. 187
String field theory	p. 210
Questions and answers	p. 229
Loop quantum gravity and spin foam models	p. 233
Loop quantum gravity	p. 235
Covariant loop quantum gravity?	p. 253
The spin foam representation of loop quantum gravity	p. 272
Three-dimensional spin foam Quantum Gravity	p. 290
The group field theory approach to Quantum Gravity	p. 310
Questions and answers	p. 332
Discrete Quantum Gravity	p. 339
Quantum Gravity: the art of building spacetime	p. 341
Quantum Regge Calculus	p. 360
Consistent discretizations as a road to Quantum Gravity	p. 378
The causal set approach to Quantum Gravity	p. 393
Questions and answers	p. 414
Effective models and Quantum Gravity phenomenology	p. 425
Quantum Gravity phenomenology	p. 427
Quantum Gravity and precision tests	p. 450
Algebraic approach to Quantum Gravity II: noncommutative spacetime	p. 466
Doubly special relativity	p. 493
From quantum reference frames to deformed special relativity	p. 509
Lorentz invariance violation and its role in Quantum Gravity phenomenology	p. 528
Generic predictions of quantum theories of gravity	p. 548
Questions and answers	p. 571
Index	p. 580
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