Gravity, Gauge Theories and Quantum Cosmology

Gravity, Gauge Theories and Quantum Cosmology PDF Author: J.V. Narlikar
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400945086
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 477

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Book Description
For several decades since its inception, Einstein's general theory of relativity stood somewhat aloof from the rest of physics. Paradoxically, the attributes which normally boost a physical theory - namely, its perfection as a theoreti cal framework and the extraordinary intellectual achievement underlying i- prevented the general theory from being assimilated in the mainstream of physics. It was as if theoreticians hesitated to tamper with something that is manifestly so beautiful. Happily, two developments in the 1970s have narrowed the gap. In 1974 Stephen Hawking arrived at the remarkable result that black holes radiate after all. And in the second half of the decade, particle physicists discovered that the only scenario for applying their grand unified theories was offered by the very early phase in the history of the Big Bang universe. In both cases, it was necessary to discuss the ideas of quantum field theory in the background of curved spacetime that is basic to general relativity. This is, however, only half the total story. If gravity is to be brought into the general fold of theoretical physics we have to know how to quantize it. To date this has proved a formidable task although most physicists would agree that, as in the case of grand unified theories, quantum gravity will have applications to cosmology, in the very early stages of the Big Bang universe. In fact, the present picture of the Big Bang universe necessarily forces us to think of quantum cosmology.

Gravity, Gauge Theories and Quantum Cosmology

Gravity, Gauge Theories and Quantum Cosmology PDF Author: J.V. Narlikar
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400945086
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 477

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Book Description
For several decades since its inception, Einstein's general theory of relativity stood somewhat aloof from the rest of physics. Paradoxically, the attributes which normally boost a physical theory - namely, its perfection as a theoreti cal framework and the extraordinary intellectual achievement underlying i- prevented the general theory from being assimilated in the mainstream of physics. It was as if theoreticians hesitated to tamper with something that is manifestly so beautiful. Happily, two developments in the 1970s have narrowed the gap. In 1974 Stephen Hawking arrived at the remarkable result that black holes radiate after all. And in the second half of the decade, particle physicists discovered that the only scenario for applying their grand unified theories was offered by the very early phase in the history of the Big Bang universe. In both cases, it was necessary to discuss the ideas of quantum field theory in the background of curved spacetime that is basic to general relativity. This is, however, only half the total story. If gravity is to be brought into the general fold of theoretical physics we have to know how to quantize it. To date this has proved a formidable task although most physicists would agree that, as in the case of grand unified theories, quantum gravity will have applications to cosmology, in the very early stages of the Big Bang universe. In fact, the present picture of the Big Bang universe necessarily forces us to think of quantum cosmology.

Gravitation, Gauge Theories and the Early Universe

Gravitation, Gauge Theories and the Early Universe PDF Author: B.R. Iyer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400925778
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 546

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Book Description
This book evolved out of some one hundred lectures given by twenty experts at a special instructional conference sponsored by the University Grants Commis sion, India. It is pedagogical in style and self-contained in several interrelated areas of physics which have become extremely important in present-day theoretical research. The articles begin with an introduction to general relativity and cosmology as well as particle physics and quantum field theory. This is followed by reviews of the standard gauge models of high-energy physics, renormalization group and grand unified theories. The concluding parts of the book comprise discussions in current research topics such as problems of the early universe, quantum cosmology and the new directions towards a unification of gravitation with other forces. In addition, special concise treatments of mathematical topics of direct relevance are also included. The content of the book was carefully worked out for the mutual education of students and research workers in general relativity and particle physics. This ambitious programe consequently necessitated the involvement of a number of different authors. However, care has been taken to ensure that the material meshes into a unified, cogent and readable book. We hope that the book will serve to initiate and guide a student in these different areas of investigation starting from first principles and leading to the exciting current research problems of an interdisciplinary nature in the context of the origin and structure of the universe.

Gravity, Gauge Theories and Quantum Cosmology

Gravity, Gauge Theories and Quantum Cosmology PDF Author: J. V. Narlikar
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789400945098
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 488

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Book Description


Loops, Knots, Gauge Theories

Loops, Knots, Gauge Theories PDF Author: Rodolfo Gambini
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009290193
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
This volume provides a self-contained introduction to applications of loop representations in particle physics and quantum gravity, in order to explore the gauge invariant quantization of Yang-Mills theories and gravity. First published in 1996, this title has been reissued as an Open Access publication on Cambridge Core.

Quantum Gravity, Quantum Cosmology and Lorentzian Geometries

Quantum Gravity, Quantum Cosmology and Lorentzian Geometries PDF Author: Giampiero Esposito
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540472959
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
This book is aimed at theoretical and mathematical physicists and mathematicians interested in modern gravitational physics. I have thus tried to use language familiar to readers working on classical and quantum gravity, paying attention both to difficult calculations and to existence theorems, and discussing in detail the current literature. The first aim of the book is to describe recent work on the problem of boundary conditions in one-loop quantum cosmology. The motivation of this research was to under stand whether supersymmetric theories are one-loop finite in the presence of boundaries, with application to the boundary-value problemsoccurring in quantum cosmology. Indeed, higher-loop calculations in the absence of boundaries are already available in the litera ture, showing that supergravity is not finite. I believe, however, that one-loop calculations in the presence of boundaries are more fundamental, in that they provide a more direct check of the inconsistency of supersymmetric quantum cosmology from the perturbative point of view. It therefore appears that higher-order calculations are not strictly needed, if the one-loop test already yields negative results. Even though the question is not yet settled, this research has led to many interesting, new applications of areas of theoretical and mathematical physics such as twistor theory in flat space, self-adjointness theory, the generalized Riemann zeta-function, and the theory of boundary counterterms in super gravity. I have also compared in detail my work with results by other authors, explaining, whenever possible, the origin of different results, the limits of my work and the unsolved problems.

Quantum Gauge Theories

Quantum Gauge Theories PDF Author: Günter Scharf
Publisher: Wiley-VCH
ISBN: 9780471414803
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
An innovative new treatment of particle physics using quantum gauge theory as its basis If regarded as operator theories, ghost fields play a very important role in quantum gauge theory, which forms the basis of modern particle physics. The author argues that all known forces in nature-electromagnetism, weak and strong forces, and gravity-follow in a unique way from the basic principle of quantum gauge invariance. Using that as a starting point, this volume discusses gauge theories as quantum theories, as part of a streamlined modern approach. The simplicity of using only this one method throughout the book allows the reader a clear understanding of the mathematical structure of nature, while this modern and mathematically well-defined approach elucidates the standard theory of particle physics without overburdening the reader with the full range of various ideas and methods. Though the subject matter requires a basic knowledge of quantum mechanics, the book's unprecedented and uncomplicated coverage will offer readers little difficulty. This revolutionary volume is suitable for graduate students and researchers alike and includes a completely new treatment of gravity as well as important new ideas on massive gauge fields.

Quantum Gravity in 2+1 Dimensions

Quantum Gravity in 2+1 Dimensions PDF Author: Steven Carlip
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521545884
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
The first comprehensive survey of (2+1)-dimensional quantum gravity - for graduate students and researchers.

The Biggest Ideas in the Universe

The Biggest Ideas in the Universe PDF Author: Sean Carroll
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593186583
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Most appealing... technical accuracy and lightness of tone... Impeccable.”—Wall Street Journal “A porthole into another world.”—Scientific American “Brings science dissemination to a new level.”—Science The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality. Physics offers deep insights into the workings of the universe but those insights come in the form of equations that often look like gobbledygook. Sean Carroll shows that they are really like meaningful poems that can help us fly over sierras to discover a miraculous multidimensional landscape alive with radiant giants, warped space-time, and bewilderingly powerful forces. High school calculus is itself a centuries-old marvel as worthy of our gaze as the Mona Lisa. And it may come as a surprise the extent to which all our most cutting-edge ideas about black holes are built on the math calculus enables. No one else could so smoothly guide readers toward grasping the very equation Einstein used to describe his theory of general relativity. In the tradition of the legendary Richard Feynman lectures presented sixty years ago, this book is an inspiring, dazzling introduction to a way of seeing that will resonate across cultural and generational boundaries for many years to come.

Quantum Gravity

Quantum Gravity PDF Author: M. Markov
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461327016
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 544

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Book Description
Three years have passed after the First Moscow Seminar on Quantum Gravity. It is a rather long time interval for the modern theoretical physics. The talks given at the present Second Seminar which took place in October 13-15, 1981 in Moscow contain the discussion of new results obtained during this period and the problems which arose. More than one hundred Soviet scientists and a number of the foreign guests attended this Seminar, which as the previous one was held by the Nuclear Physics Department of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The aim of the Seminar was to discuss the most important problems of the modern Quantum Gravity, namely: i) Quantum Gravity: the state of art; ii) Quantum effects in Cosmology; iii) Quantum black-hole physics; iv) the recent development in Supergravity and v) Quantum Gauge Theories. The Editorial Board expresses its sincere gratitude to all physicists who have contributed to these Proceedings for their cooperation with the Board in respect of time limitation, accurate and patient fulfilment of all tiresome requirements, set by the Board. The talks in the Proceedings are arranged in sections in accordance with their presentation at the Seminar.

Canonical Quantum Gravity

Canonical Quantum Gravity PDF Author: Francesco Cianfrani
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814556661
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
This book aims to present a pedagogical and self-consistent treatment of the canonical approach to Quantum Gravity, starting from its original formulation to the most recent developments in the field. We start with an innovative and enlightening introduction to the formalism and concepts on which General Relativity has been built, giving all the information necessary in the later analysis. A brief sketch of the Standard Cosmological Model describing the Universe evolution is also given alongside the analysis of the inflationary mechanism. After deepening the fundamental properties of constrained dynamic systems, the Lagrangian approach to the Einsteinian Theory is presented in some detail, underlining the parallelism with non-Abelian gauge theories. Then, the basic concepts of the canonical approach to Quantum Mechanics are provided, focusing on all those formulations which are relevant for the Canonical Quantum Gravity problem. The Hamiltonian formulation of General Relativity and its constrained structure is then analyzed by comparing different formulations. The resulting quantum dynamics, described by the Wheeler–DeWitt equation, is fully discussed in order to outline its merits and limits. Afterwards, the reformulation of Canonical Quantum Gravity in terms of the Ashtekar–Barbero–Immirzi variables is faced by a detailed discussion of the resulting Loop Quantum Gravity Theory. Finally, we provide a consistent picture of canonical Quantum Cosmology by facing the main features of the Wheeler–DeWitt equation for the homogeneous Bianchi models and then by a detailed treatment of Loop Quantum Cosmology, including very recent developments. Contents:Introduction to General RelativityElements of CosmologyConstrained Hamiltonian SystemsLagrangian FormulationsQuantization MethodsQuantum GeometrodynamicsGravity as a Gauge TheoryLoop Quantum GravityQuantum Cosmology Readership: Researchers in theoretical physics, quantum physics, general relativity and astrophysics. Keywords:Canonical Quantum Gravity;Quantum Gravity;Loop Quantum Gravity Theory;General RelativityKey Features:An independent and sound analysis touching many crucial points in the attempt toward a consistent Canonical Quantum Gravity theoryA pedagogical and exhaustive review of fundamental concepts of Quantum Mechanics and General RelativityA solid introduction to Hamiltonian constrained systems with a detailed analysis of the notion of canonical transformation in this class of systems with some concrete examples giving useful insightA self-consistent derivation of the Loop Quantum Gravity Approach, outlining the main progresses and the shortcomings of this theory