2000 character limit reached
GR as a classical spin-2 theory? (2403.08637v1)
Published 13 Mar 2024 in physics.hist-ph and gr-qc
Abstract: The self-interaction spin-2 approach to general relativity (GR) has been extremely influential in the particle physics community. Leaving no doubt regarding its heuristic value, we argue that a view of the metric field of GR as nothing but a stand-in for a self-coupling field in flat spacetime runs into a dilemma: either the view is physically incomplete in so far as it requires recourse to GR after all, or it leads to an absurd multiplication of alternative viewpoints on GR rendering any understanding of the metric field as nothing but a spin-2 field in flat spacetime unjustified.
- Ashtekar, A. (1991). Lectures on non-perturbative canonical gravity, Volume 4. World Scientific.
- Baker, M. R. (2021). Canonical Noether and the energy-momentum non-uniqueness problem in linearized gravity. Classical and Quantum Gravity 38, 095007.
- Noether and Hilbert (metric) energy-momentum tensors are not, in general, equivalent. Nucl. Phys. B 962, 115240.
- Unimodular gravity and general relativity from graviton self-interactions. Physical Review D 89(12), 124019.
- Inconsistency of interacting, multi-graviton theories. Nuclear Physics B 597(1-3), 127–171.
- Butcher, L. M. (2012). The Localisation of Gravitational Energy, Momentum, and Spin. Ph. D. thesis, University of Cambridge.
- Renormalizability, fundamentality, and a final theory: The role of uv-completion in the search for quantum gravity. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 70(2), 377–406.
- Deformations of gauge groups. gravitation. Journal of Mathematical Physics 20(11), 2264–2271.
- Deriving general relativity from string theory. Philosophy of Science 82(5), 1163–1174.
- Out of Nowhere: The Emergence of Spacetime in Quantum Theories of Gravity. Oxford University Press.
- Padmanabhan, T. (2008). From gravitons to gravity: Myths and reality. International Journal of Modern Physics D 17, 367–398.
- Pitts, J. B. (2022). What represents space-time? And what follows for substantivalism vs. relationalism and gravitational energy? arXiv preprint arXiv:2208.05946.
- Salimkhani, K. (2020). The dynamical approach to spin-2 gravity. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 72, 29–45.
- Wald, R. M. (1986). Spin-two fields and general covariance. Physical Review D 33(12), 3613.
Paper Prompts
Sign up for free to create and run prompts on this paper using GPT-5.
Top Community Prompts
Collections
Sign up for free to add this paper to one or more collections.