Canonical vacuum gravity is expressed in generally-covariant form in order that spacetime diffeomorphisms be represented within its equal-time phase space. In accordance with the principle of general covariance, the time mapping ${\T}: {\yman} \to {\rman}$ and the space mapping ${\X}: {\yman} \to {\xman}$ that define the Dirac-ADM foliation are incorporated into the framework of the Hilbert variational principle. The resulting canonical action encompasses all individual Dirac-ADM actions, corresponding to different choices of foliating vacuum spacetimes by spacelike hypersurfaces. In this framework, spacetime observables, namely, dynamical variables that are invariant under spacetime diffeomorphisms, are not necessarily invariant under the deformations of the mappings $\T$ and $\X$, nor are they constants of the motion. Dirac observables form only a subset of spacetime observables that are invariant under the transformations of $\T$ and $\X$ and do not evolve in time. The conventional interpretation of the canonical theory, due to Bergmann and Dirac, can be recovered only by postulating that the transformations of the reference system $({\T},{\X})$ have no measurable consequences. If this postulate is not deemed necessary, covariant canonical gravity admits no classical problem of time.
Cosmic censorship is known to fail in some well-controlled phenomena, calling into question the predictive power of General Relativity and opening up the possibility of observing Planck-scale physics. We propose that the cosmic censorship conjecture can be amended so that its spirit prevails. Naked singularities that, classically, have zero mass are allowed. Physically, these are Planck-sized `black holes', which evaporate in a few Planck times. General Relativity fails only for a tiny interval in time, to then quickly regain control in a Miltonian evolution that returns us to the predictive p…
There exist several ways of constructing general relativity from `first principles': Einstein's original derivation, Lovelock's results concerning the exceptional nature of the Einstein tensor from a mathematical perspective, and Hojman-Kuchař-Teitelboim's derivation of the Hamiltonian form of the theory from the symmetries of spacetime, to name a few. Here I propose a different set of first principles to obtain general relativity in the canonical framework without presupposing spacetime in any way. I first require consistent propagation of scalar spatially covariant constraints. I find that u…
We argue that the standard canonical treatment of GR breaks manifest spacetime covariance. We present new variables which carry a reducible representation of gauge transformations and spacetime diffeomorphisms. A proposal is presented for an action designed to realize these symmetries at the canonical level.
Barbour's formulation of Mach's principle requires a theory of gravity to implement local relativity of clocks, local relativity of rods and spatial covariance. It turns out that relativity of clocks and rods are mutually exclusive. General Relativity implements local relativity of clocks and spatial covariance, but not local relativity of rods. It is the purpose of this contribution to show how Shape Dynamics, a theory that is locally equivalent to General Relativity, implements local relativity of rods and spatial covariance and how a BRST formulation, which I call Doubly General Relativity,…
In the previous paper we have introduced the LARES 2 space experiment. The LARES 2 laser-ranged satellite is planned for a launch in 2019 with the new VEGA C launch vehicle of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), ESA and ELV. The main objectives of the LARES 2 experiment are accurate measurements of General Relativity, gravitational and fundamental physics and accurate determinations in space geodesy and geodynamics. In particular LARES 2 is aimed to achieve a very accurate test of frame-dragging, an intriguing phenomenon predicted by General Relativity. Here we report the results of Monte Carlo si…
The history of general relativity suggests that in absence of experimental 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 background 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 unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics -- could profit from the same approach. Two p…
The framework of a theory of gravity from the quantum to the classical regime is presented. The paradigm shift from full spacetime covariance to spatial diffeomorphism invariance, together with clean decomposition of the canonical structure, yield transparent physical dynamics and a resolution of the problem of time. The deep divide between quantum mechanics and conventional canonical formulations of quantum gravity is overcome with a Schrödinger equation for quantum geometrodynamics that describes evolution in intrinsic time. Unitary time development with gauge-invariant temporal ordering is …
Traditional derivations of general relativity from the graviton degrees of freedom assume space-time Lorentz covariance as an axiom. In this essay, we survey recent evidence that general relativity is the unique spatially-covariant effective field theory of the transverse, traceless graviton degrees of freedom. The Lorentz covariance of general relativity, having not been assumed in our analysis, is thus plausibly interpreted as an accidental or emergent symmetry of the gravitational sector. From this point of view, Lorentz covariance is a necessary feature of low-energy graviton dynamics, not…
Classical background independence is reflected in Lagrangian general relativity through covariance under the full diffeomorphism group. We show how this independence can be maintained in a Hamilton-Jacobi approach that does not accord special privilege to any geometric structure. Intrinsic spacetime curvature based coordinates grant equal status to all geometric backgrounds. They play an essential role as a starting point for inequivalent semi-classical quantizations. The scheme calls into question Wheeler's geometrodynamical approach and the associated Wheeler-DeWitt equation in which three-m…
Since the appearance of General Relativity, its intrinsec general covariance has been very often misinterpreted as implying that physically meaningful quantitities (and conclusions extracted from the theory) have to be absolutely independent on observers. This incorrect point of view is sometimes expressed by discarding the very concept of observer in the structure and applications of the theory. As we shall stress in this essay, through some examples, the concept of observer is as essential to General Relativity as it is to any physical theory.
Effective models of black holes interior have led to several proposals for regular black holes. In the so-called polymer models, based on effective deformations of the phase space of spherically symmetric general relativity in vacuum, one considers a deformed Hamiltonian constraint while keeping a non-deformed vectorial constraint. In this article, we revisit and study further the question of covariance in these deformed gravity models. In particular, we propose a Lagrangian formulation for these deformed gravity models where polymer-like deformations are introduced at the level of the full th…
The group of rigid motions is considered to guide the search for a natural system of space-time coordinates in General Relativity. This search leads us to a natural extension of the space-times that support Painlevé--Gullstrand synchronization. As an interesting example, here we describe a system of rigid coordinates for the cross mode of gravitational linear plane waves.
Based on the principle of relativity, we find that the sufficient and necessary condition for the general covariance of a field theory actually requires more than the invariance of its local Langrangian density. If the spacetime is not a flat one, its derivative requirement from the analysis of the parallel transportation of tensor fields over spacetime restricts the generally supposed covariance group, the group of differmorphisms, to the group of linear coordinate transformations. Moreover, for any a field theory with linear equations of motion, it stipulates for a universal physical propaga…
We provide evidence that general relativity is the unique spatially covariant effective field theory of the transverse, traceless graviton degrees of freedom. The Lorentz covariance of general relativity, having not been assumed in our analysis, is thus plausibly interpreted as an accidental or emergent symmetry of the gravitational sector.
The covariance group for general relativity, the diffeomorphisms, is replaced by a group of coordinate transformations which contains the diffeomorphisms as a proper subgroup. The larger group is defined by the assumption that all observers will agree whether any given quantity is conserved. Alternatively, and equivalently, it is defined by the assumption that all observers will agree that the general relativistic wave equation describes the propagation of light. Thus, the group replacement is analogous to the replacement of the Lorentz group by the diffeomorphisms that led Einstein from speci…
We consider defining time as a function of a cyclical field, an abstraction of a clock. The definition of time corresponds to a novel interpretation of the relationship between space-time coordinates of observers at different locations in space. As a first test of the utility of this definition, we show that it leads to a Lorentz covariant description of space-time. This derivation of Lorenz covariance provides a starting point for considering more general constructions that relate to physical laws. The definition of time couples time to space, making time not orthogonal to space, and making d…
Unimodular relativity is a theory of gravity and space-time with a fixed absolute space-time volume element, the modulus, which we suppose is proportional to the number of microscopic modules in that volume element. In general relativity an arbitrary fixed measure can be imposed as a gauge condition, while in unimodular relativity it is determined by the events in the volume. Since this seems to break general covariance, some have suggested that it permits a non-zero covariant divergence of the material stress-energy tensor and a variable cosmological ``constant.'' In Lagrangian unimodular rel…
(Abridged Abstract) This paper deals with a number of technical achievements that are instrumental for a dis-solution of the so-called {\it Hole Argument} in general relativity. The work is carried through in metric gravity for the class of Christoudoulou-Klainermann space-times, in which the temporal evolution is ruled by the {\it weak} ADM energy. The main results of the investigation are the following: 1) A re-interpretation of {\it active} diffeomorphisms as {\it passive and metric-dependent} dynamical symmetries of Einstein's equations, a re-interpretation that discloses their (up to now …
This paper is based on the invited talks delivered by the author at GR 19: the 19th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation, Ciudad de México, México, July 2010. In Part 1, we briefly review some of the main features of quantum gravity with anisotropic scaling, and comment on its possible relation to the causal dynamical triangulations (CDT) approach to lattice quantum gravity. Part 2 explains the construction of gravity with anisotropic scaling with an extended gauge symmetry -- essentially a nonrelativistic version of general covariance. This extra symmetry eliminates …
It might seem that a choice of a time coordinate in Hamiltonian formulations of general relativity breaks the full four-dimensional diffeomorphism covariance of the theory. This is not the case. We construct explicitly the complete set of gauge generators for Ashtekar's formulation of canonical gravity. The requirement of projectability of the Legendre map from configuration-velocity space to phase space renders the symmetry group a gauge transformation group on configuration-velocity variables. Yet there is a sense in which the full four-dimensional diffeomorphism group survives. Symmetry gen…
Famously, Klein and Einstein were embroiled in an epistolary dispute over whether General Relativity has any physically meaningful conserved quantities. In this paper, we explore the consequences of Noether's second theorem for this debate, and connect it to Einstein's search for a `substantive' version of general covariance as well as his quest to extend the Principle of Relativity. We will argue that Noether's second theorem provides a clear way to distinguish between theories in which gauge or diffeomorphism symmetry is doing real work in defining charges, as opposed to cases in which this …
In the minimal formulation of gravity with Lifshitz-type anisotropic scaling, the gauge symmetries of the system are foliation-preserving diffeomorphisms of spacetime. Consequently, compared to general relativity, the spectrum contains an extra scalar graviton polarization. Here we investigate the possibility of extending the gauge group by a local U(1) symmetry to "nonrelativistic general covariance." This extended gauge symmetry eliminates the scalar graviton, and forces the coupling constant $λ$ in the kinetic term of the minimal formulation to take its relativistic value, $λ=1$. The result…
We discuss the properties of the gravitational energy-momentum 3-form within the tetrad formulation of general relativity theory. We derive the covariance properties of the quantities describing the energy-momentum content under Lorentz transformations of the tetrad. As an application, we consider the computation of the total energy (mass) of some exact solutions of Einstein's general relativity theory which describe compact sources with asymptotically flat spacetime geometry. As it is known, depending on the choice of tetrad frame, the formal total integral for such configurations may diverge…
Based on the canonical quantization of $d>2$ dimensional general relativity (GR) via the Dirac constraint formalism (also termed as `constraint quantization'), we propose the loss of covariance as a fundamental property of the theory. This breakdown occurs for the first-order Einstein Hilbert action, whereby loss of diffeomorphism invariance, besides first class constraints, second class constriants also exist leading to non-standard ghost fields which render the path integral non-covariant. We also attempt, for the first time, the canonical quantization via calculation of the path integral fo…
The covariance of loop quantum gravity studies of spherically symmetric space-times has recently been questioned. This is a reasonable worry, given that they are formulated in terms of slicing-dependent variables. We show explicitly that the resulting space-times, obtained from Dirac observables of the quantum theory, are covariant in the usual sense of the way -- they preserve the quantum line element -- for any gauge that is stationary (in the exterior, if there is a horizon). The construction depends crucially on the details of the Abelianized quantization considered, the satisfaction of th…
In this paper we discuss how the Magueijo-Smolin Doubly Special Relativity proposal may obtained from a singular Lagrangian action. The deformed energy-momentum dispersion relation rises as a particular gauge, whose covariance imposes the non-linear Lorentz group action. Moreover, the additional invariant scale is present from the beginning as a coupling constant to a gauge auxiliary variable. The geometrical meaning of the gauge fixing procedure and its connection to the free relativistic particle are also described.
We discuss twisted covariance over the noncommutative spacetime algebra generated by the relations [q_theta^mu,q_theta^nu]=i theta^{mu nu}, where the matrix theta is treated as fixed (not a tensor), and we refrain from using the asymptotic Moyal expansion of the twists. We show that the tensor nature of theta is only hidden in the formalism: in particular if theta fulfils the DFR conditions, the twisted Lorentz covariant model of the flat quantum spacetime may be equivalently described in terms of the DFR model, if we agree to discard a huge non invariant set of localisation states; it is only…
In the Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity, Einstein's equation is replaced by a set of four constraints. Classically, the constraints can be identified with the generators of the hypersurface-deformation Lie algebroid (HDA) that belongs to the groupoid of finite evolutions in space-time. Taken over to deformed general relativity, this connection allows one to study possible Drinfeld twists of space-time diffeomorphisms with Hopf-algebra techniques. After a review of noncommutative differential structures, two cases --- twisted diffeomorphisms with standard action and deformed (or $\…
We present a definite formulation of the Principle of General Covariance (GCP) as a Principle of General Relativity with physical content and thus susceptible of verification or contradiction. To that end it is useful to introduce a kind of coordinates, that we call quasi-Minkowskian coordinates (QMC), as an empirical extension of the Minkowskian coordinates employed by the inertial observers in flat space-time to general observers in the curved situations in presence of gravitation. The QMC are operationally defined by some of the operational protocols through which the inertial observers det…
We present results from a covariance study for the proposed Laser Astrometric Test of Relativity (LATOR) mission. This mission would send two laser-transmitter spacecraft behind the Sun and measure the relative gravitational light bending of their signals using a hundred-meter-baseline optical interferometer to be constructed on the International Space Station. We assume that each spacecraft is equipped with a $ < 1.9 \times 10^{-13} \mathrm{m} \mathrm{s}^2 \mathrm{Hz}^{-1/2} $ drag-free system and assume approximately one year of data. We conclude that the observations allow a simultaneous de…
While the postulate of covariance of Maxwell's equations for all inertial observers led Einstein to special relativity, it was the further demand of general covariance -- form invariance under general coordinate transformations, including between accelerating frames -- that led to general relativity. Several lines of inquiry over the past two decades, notably the development of metamaterial-based transformation optics, has spurred a greater interest in the role of geometry and space-time covariance for electrodynamics in ponderable media. I develop a generally covariant, coordinate-free framew…
Change and local spatial variation are missing in Hamiltonian General Relativity according to the most common definition of observables (0 Poisson bracket with all first-class constraints). But other definitions have been proposed. Seeking Hamiltonian-Lagrangian equivalence, Pons, Salisbury and Sundermeyer use the Anderson-Bergmann-Castellani gauge generator G, a tuned sum of first-class constraints. Kuchař waived the 0 Poisson bracket condition for the Hamiltonian constraint to achieve changing observables. A systematic combination of the two reforms might use the gauge generator but permit n…
It is a commonplace attributed to Kretschmann that any local physical theory can be represented in arbitrary coordinates using tensor calculus. But the literature also claims that spinors _as such_ cannot be represented in coordinates in a curved space-time. These commonplaces are inconsistent, so what is general covariance for fermions? In fact both commonplaces are wrong. Ogievetsky and Polubarinov (OP) constructed spinors in coordinates in 1965, enhancing the unity of physics and helping to spawn nonlinear group representations. Roughly and locally, OP spinors resemble the orthonormal basis…
We recast the action principle of four dimensional General Relativity so that it becomes amenable for perturbation theory which doesn't break general covariance. The coupling constant becomes dimensionless (G_{Newton} Λ) and extremely small 10^{-120}. We give an expression for the generating functional of perturbation theory. We show that the partition function of quantum General Relativity can be expressed as an expectation value of a certain topologically invariant observable. This sets up a framework in which quantum gravity can be studied perturbatively using the techniques of topological …
"The last remnant of physical objectivity of space-time" is disclosed, beyond the Leibniz equivalence, in the case of a continuous family of spatially non-compact models of general relativity. The {\it physical individuation} of point-events is furnished by the intrinsic degrees of freedom of the gravitational field, (viz, the {\it Dirac observables}) that represent - as it were - the {\it ontic} part of the metric field. The physical role of the {\it epistemic} part (viz. the {\it gauge} variables) is likewise clarified. At the end, a peculiar four-dimensional {\it holistic and structuralist}…
We study the generally covariant theory governing an isotropic spacetime region with uniform energy density. Gibbons, Hawking and York showed that fixing the induced boundary metric yields a well-posed variational problem. However, as we demonstrate, fixing the boundary metric violates general covariance and allows the mass of a back hole to vary. This observation has dramatic consequences for path integrals: A sum over spacetimes with fixed boundary metrics is a sum over classically distinct black holes. Instead, we merely demand that coordinates exist such that the metric at the boundary is …
We investigate consequences of allowing the Hilbert space of a quantum system to have a time-dependent metric. For a given possibly nonstationary quantum system, we show that the requirement of having a unitary Schreodinger time-evolution identifies the metric with a positive-definite (Ermakov-Lewis) dynamical invariant of the system. Therefore the geometric phases are determined by the metric. We construct a unitary map relating a given time-independent Hilbert space to the time-dependent Hilbert space defined by a positive-definite dynamical invariant. This map defines a transformation that …
Canonical methods can be used to construct effective actions from deformed covariance algebras, as implied by quantum-geometry corrections of loop quantum gravity. To this end, classical constructions are extended systematically to effective constraints of canonical quantum gravity and applied to model systems as well as general metrics, with the following conclusions: (i) Dispersion relations of matter and gravitational waves are deformed in related ways, ensuring a consistent realization of causality. (ii) Inverse-triad corrections modify the classical action in a way clearly distinguishable…
In the Ashtekar-Barbero formulation of canonical general relativity based on an SU(2) connection, Lorentz covariance is a subtle issue which has been the focus of some debate. Here we present a Lorentz covariant formulation generalising the notion of a foliation of spacetime to a field of local observers which specify a time direction only locally. This field spontaneously breaks the local SO(3,1) symmetry down to a subgroup SO(3); we show that the apparent symmetry breaking to SO(3) is not in conflict with Lorentz covariance. We give a geometric picture of our construction as Cartan geometrod…
A crucial step in the history of General Relativity was Einstein's adoption of the principle of general covariance which demands a coordinate independent formulation for our spacetime theories. General covariance helps us to disentangle a theory's substantive content from its merely representational artifacts. It is an indispensable tool for a modern understanding of spacetime theories. Motivated by quantum gravity, one may wish to extend these notions to quantum spacetime theories (whatever those are). Relatedly, one might want to extend these notions to discrete spacetime theories (i.e., lat…
A crucial step in the history of General Relativity was Einstein's adoption of the principle of general covariance which demands a coordinate independent formulation for our spacetime theories. General covariance helps us to disentangle a theory's substantive content from its merely representational artifacts. It is an indispensable tool for a modern understanding of spacetime theories. Motivated by quantum gravity, one may wish to extend these notions to quantum spacetime theories (whatever those are). Relatedly, one might want to extend these notions to discrete spacetime theories (i.e., lat…
Change and local spatial variation are missing in canonical General Relativity's observables as usually defined, part of the problem of time. Definitions can be tested using equivalent formulations, non-gauge and gauge, because they must have equivalent observables and everything is observable in the non-gauge formulation. Taking an observable from the non-gauge formulation and finding the equivalent in the gauge formulation, one requires that the equivalent be an observable, constraining definitions. For massive photons, the de Broglie-Proca non-gauge formulation observable A_μ is equivalent …
This is a review of the chrono-geometrical structure of special and general relativity with a special emphasis on the role of non-inertial frames and of the conventions for the synchronization of distant clocks. ADM canonical metric and tetrad gravity are analyzed in a class of space-times suitable to incorporate particle physics by using Dirac theory of constraints, which allows to arrive at a separation of the genuine degrees of freedom of the gravitational field, the Dirac observables describing generalized tidal effects, from its gauge variables, describing generalized inertial effects. A …
We develop a quantum effective action for scalar-tensor theories of gravity which is both spacetime diffeomorphism invariant and field reparameterisation (frame) invariant beyond the classical approximation. We achieve this by extending the Vilkovisky-DeWitt formalism, treating both the scalar fields and the components of the gravitational tensor field as coordinates describing a manifold. By using tensors covariant under diffeomorphisms of this manifold, we show that scalar-tensor theories can be written in a form that is manifestly frame invariant at both classical and quantum levels. In~the…
In an attempt to generalize general relativity, we propose a new Hermitian theory of gravity. Space-time is generalized to space-time-momentum-energy and both the principles of general covariance and equivalence are extended. The theory is endowed with a Hermitian metric on a complex manifold. The Hermitian metric contains, apart from the symmetric metric, an anti-symmetric part, which describes dynamical torsion. The causality structure is changed in a way such that there is a minimal time for events to be in causal contact and a maximal radius for a non-local instantaneous causally related v…
Under the explicit violation of the general covariance to the unimodular one, the effect of the emerging scalar graviton on the static spherically symmetric metrics is studied. The main results are three-fold. First, there appears the two-parametric family of such metrics, instead of the one-parametric black-hole family in General Relativity (GR). Second, there may exist the one-parametric subfamily describing a pure gravitational object, the ``graviball'', missing in GR. Third, in a simplifying assumption, all the metrics possess the correct Newton's limit as in GR.
