A First Course in Loop Quantum Gravity

The holy grail of theoretical physics is to find the theory of everything that combines all the forces of nature, including gravity. This book addresses the question: how far are we from such discovery? Over the last few decades, multiple roads to finding a quantum theory of gravity have been proposed but no obvious description of nature has emerged in this domain. What is to be made of this situation? This volume probes the state-of-the art in this daunting quest of theoretical physics by collecting critical interviews with nearly forty leading theorists in this field. These broad-ranging conversations give important insights and candid opinions on the various approaches to quantum gravity, including string theory, loop quantum gravity, causal set theory and asymptotic safety. This unique, readable overview provides a gateway into cutting edge research for students and others who wish to engage with the open problem of quantum gravity.

Radar Meteorology: A First Course introduces undergraduate and graduate students to the technology and application of radar in 21st century meteorology and atmospheric sciences. The book, designed to accompany university courses in radar meteorology, will have three distinct parts. In the first part, the reader will be introduced to electromagnetic wave propagation and radar design considerations. This part will then develop the techniques used to retrieve the key quantities central to radar meteorology: the effective radar reflectivity factor, the Doppler radial velocity and spectral width, and polarization variables. The second part will focus on operational meteorological applications, including data quality control, precipitation estimation and hydrometeorological applications, warm season mid-latitude severe weather, cold season hazardous weather, and tropical cyclones. The third part of the book will focus on research applications, including research

Shown here is how basic concepts of physics can be used to improve models in finance, economics, psychology and biology. Readers are introduced to how physical theory can inform non-physical phenomena

Shown here is how basic concepts of physics can be used to improve models in finance, economics, psychology and biology. Readers are introduced to how physical theory can inform non-physical phenomena

The unique features of the quantum world are explained in this book through the language of diagrams, setting out an innovative visual method for presenting complex theories. Requiring only basic mathematical literacy, this book employs a unique formalism that builds an intuitive understanding of quantum features while eliminating the need for complex calculations. This entirely diagrammatic presentation of quantum theory represents the culmination of ten years of research, uniting classical techniques in linear algebra and Hilbert spaces with cutting-edge developments in quantum computation and foundations. Written in an entertaining and user-friendly style and including more than one hundred exercises, this book is an ideal first course in quantum theory, foundations, and computation for students from undergraduate to PhD level, as well as an opportunity for researchers from a broad range of fields, from physics to biology, linguistics, and cognitive science, to discover a new set of

This volume presents a snapshot of the state-of-the-art in loop quantum gravity from the perspective of younger leading researchers. It takes the reader from the basics to recent advances, thereby bri

Quantum gravity is among the most fascinating problems in physics. It modifies our understanding of time, space and matter. The recent development of the loop approach has allowed us to explore domains ranging from black hole thermodynamics to the early Universe. This book provides readers with a simple introduction to loop quantum gravity, centred on its covariant approach. It focuses on the physical and conceptual aspects of the problem and includes the background material needed to enter this lively domain of research, making it ideal for researchers and graduate students. Topics covered include quanta of space; classical and quantum physics without time; tetrad formalism; Holst action; lattice QCD; Regge calculus; ADM and Ashtekar variables; Ponzano-Regge and Turaev-Viro amplitudes; kinematics and dynamics of 4D Lorentzian quantum gravity; spectrum of area and volume; coherent states; classical limit; matter couplings; graviton propagator; spinfoam cosmology and black hole thermody

In the last five decades various attempts to formulate theories of quantum gravity have been made, but none has fully succeeded in becoming the quantum theory of gravity. One possible explanation for

Quantum gravity has developed into a fast-growing subject in physics and it is expected that probing the high-energy and high-curvature regimes of gravitating systems will shed some light on how to ev

‘Gravity, a Geometrical Course’ presents general relativity (GR) in a systematic and exhaustive way, covering three aspects that are homogenized into a single texture: i) the mathematical, geometrical

The search for a quantum theory of the gravitational field is one of the great open problems in theoretical physics. This book presents a self-contained discussion of the concepts, methods and applica

This book provides an accessible introduction to loop quantum gravity and some of its applications, at a level suitable for undergraduate students and others with only a minimal knowledge of college l

Quantum gravity is perhaps the most important open problem in fundamental physics. It is the problem of merging quantum mechanics and general relativity, the two great conceptual revolutions in the physics of the twentieth century. The loop and spinfoam approach, presented in this 2004 book, is one of the leading research programs in the field. The first part of the book discusses the reformulation of the basis of classical and quantum Hamiltonian physics required by general relativity. The second part covers the basic technical research directions. Appendices include a detailed history of the subject of quantum gravity, hard-to-find mathematical material, and a discussion of some philosophical issues raised by the subject. This fascinating text is ideal for graduate students entering the field, as well as researchers already working in quantum gravity. It will also appeal to philosophers and other scholars interested in the nature of space and time.

This book, first published in 2007, is an introductory textbook on quantum field theory in gravitational backgrounds intended for undergraduate and beginning graduate students in the fields of theoretical astrophysics, cosmology, particle physics, and string theory. The book covers the basic (but essential) material of quantization of fields in an expanding universe and quantum fluctuations in inflationary spacetime. It also contains a detailed explanation of the Casimir, Unruh, and Hawking effects, and introduces the method of effective action used for calculating the back-reaction of quantum systems on a classical external gravitational field. The broad scope of the material covered will provide the reader with a thorough perspective of the subject. Every major result is derived from first principles and thoroughly explained. The book is self-contained and assumes only a basic knowledge of general relativity. Exercises with detailed solutions are provided throughout the book.

This timely volume provides a broad survey of (2+1)-dimensional quantum gravity. It emphasises the 'quantum cosmology' of closed universes and the quantum mechanics of the (2+1)-dimensional black hole. It compares and contrasts a variety of approaches, and examines what they imply for a realistic theory of quantum gravity. General relativity in three spacetime dimensions has become a popular arena in which to explore the ramifications of quantum gravity. As a diffeomorphism-invariant theory of spacetime structure, this model shares many of the conceptual problems of realistic quantum gravity. But it is also simple enough that many programs of quantization can be carried out explicitly. After analysing the space of classical solutions, this book introduces some fifteen approaches to quantum gravity - from canonical quantization in York's 'extrinsic time' to Chern-Simons quantization, from the loop representation to covariant path integration to lattice methods. Relationships among quant

A First Course in Logic is an introduction to first-order logic suitable for first and second year mathematicians and computer scientists. There are three components to this course: propositional logi

A First Course in Logic is an introduction to first-order logic suitable for first and second year mathematicians and computer scientists. There are three components to this course: propositional logi

For upper-level to graduate courses in Probability or Probability and Statistics, for majors in mathematics, statistics, engineering, and the sciences. Explores both the mathematics and the many

In Three Roads to Quantum Gravity, Lee Smolin provides an accessible overview of the attempts to build a final "theory of everything." He explains in simple terms what scientists are talking about whe