ISBN: 3-540-66910-8
TITLE: Towards Quantum Gravity
AUTHOR: Kowalski-Glikman, Jerzy (Ed.)
TOC:

Are We at the Dawn of Quantum-Gravity Phenomenology? 
Giovanni Amelino-Camelia 1 
1 Introduction 1 
2 First the Conclusions: What Has This Phenomenology Achieved? 3 
3 Addendum to Conclusions: Any Hints to Theorists from Experiments? 6 
4 Interferometry and Fuzzy Space-Time 8 
5 Gamma-Ray Bursts and In-vacuo Dispersion 15 
6 Other Quantum-Gravity Experiments 20 
7 Classical-Space-Time-Induced Quantum Phases in Matter Interferometry 24 
8 Estimates of Space-Time Fuzziness from Measurability Bounds 25 
9 Relations with Other Quantum Gravity Approaches 36 
10 Quantum Gravity, No Strings Attached 39 
11 Conservative Motivation and Other Closing Remarks 44 
Classical and Quantum Physics of Isolated Horizons: A Brief Overview 
Abhay Ashtekar 50 
1 Motivation 50 
2 Key Issues 52 
3 Summary 55 
4 Discussion 65 
Old and New Processes of Vorton Formation 
Brandon Carter 71 
Anti-de Sitter Supersymmetry 
Bernard de Wit, Ivan Herger 79 
1 Introduction 79 
2 Supersymmetry and Anti-de Sitter Space 80 
3 Anti-de Sitter Supersymmetry and Masslike Terms 83 
4 The Quadratic Casimir Operator 85 
5 Unitary Representations of the Anti-de Sitter Algebra 87 
6 The Oscillator Construction 92 
7 The Superalgebra OSp(1|4) 95 
8 Conclusions 98 
References 99 
Combinatorial Dynamics and Time in Quantum Gravity 
Stuart Kauffman, Lee Smolin 101 
1 Introduction 101 
2 Combinatorial Descriptions of Quantum Spacetime 104 
3 The Problem of the Classical Limit and its Relationship to Critical Phenomena 108 
4 Is There Quantum Directed Percolation? 111 
5 Discrete Superspace and its Structure 112 
6 Some Simple Models 114 
7 The Classical Limit of the Frozen Models 115 
8 Dynamics Including the Parameters 116 
9 A New Approach to the Problem of Time 117 
Non-commutative Extensions of Classical Theories in Physics 
Richard Kerner 130 
1 Deformations of Space-Time and Phase Space Geometries 130 
2 Why the Coordinates Should not Commute at Planck's Scale 133 
3 Non-commutative Differential Geometry 134 
4 Non-commutative Analog of Kaluza-Klein and Gauge Theories 137 
5 Minkowskian Space-Time as a Commutative Limit 142 
6 Quantum Spaces and Quantum Groups 149 
7 Conclusion 155 
References 155 
Conceptual Issues in Quantum Cosmology 
Claus Kiefer 158 
1 Introduction 158 
2 Lessons from Quantum Theory 159 
3 Quantum Cosmology 167 
4 Emergence of a Classical World 176 
5 Acknowledgements 184 
References 185 
Single-Exterior Black Holes 
Jorma Louko 188 
1 Introduction 188 
2 Kruskal Manifold and the MP^3 Geon 189 
3 Vacua on Kruskal and on the RP^3 Geon 192 
4 Entropy ofthe RP^3 Geon? 194 
5 AdS_3, the Spinless Nonextremal BTZ Hole, and the RP^2 Geon 195 
6 Vacua on the Conformal Boundaries 198 
7 Holography and String Theory 200 
8 Concluding Remarks 201 
References 201 
Dirac-Bergmann Observables for Tetrad Gravity 
Luca Lusanna 203 
Meaning of Noncommutative Geometry and the Planck-Scale Quantum Group 
Shahn Majid 227 
1 Introduction 227 
2 The Meaning of Noncommutative Geometry 231 
3 Fourier Theory 242 
4 Bicrossproduct Model of Planck-Scale Physics 251 
5 Deformed Quantum Enveloping Algebras 260 
6 Noncommutative Differential Geometry and Riemannian Manifolds 268 
References 274 
Loop Quantum Gravity and the Meaning of Diffeomorphism Invariance 
Carlo Rovelli, Marcus Gaul 277 
1 Introduction 277 
2 Basic Formalism of Loop Quantum Gravity 281 
3 Quantization of the Area 300 
4 The Physical Contents ofQuantum Gravity and the Meaning of Diffeomorphism Invariance 303 
5 Dynamics, True Observables and Spin Foams 311 
6 Open Problems and Future Perspectives 322 
Black Holes in String Theory 
Kostas Skenderis 325 
1 Introduction 325 
2 String Theory and Dualities 329 
3 Brane Solutions 335 
4 Black Holes in String Theory 341 
Gravitational waves and massless particle fields 
Jan Willem van Holten 365 
1 Planar Gravitational Waves 365 
2 Einstein-Scalar Waves 368 
3 Einstein-Dirac Waves 370 
4 Einstein-Maxwell Waves 372 
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