文档介绍：MODERN CANONICAL QUANTUM
GENERAL RELATIVITY
Modern physics rests on two fundamental building blocks: general relativity and
quantum theory. General relativity is a geometric interpretation of gravity, while
quantum theory governs the microscopic behaviour of matter. According to Ein-
stein’s equations, geometry is curved when and where matter is localized. There-
fore, in general relativity, geometry is a dynamical quantity that cannot be pre-
scribed a priori but is in interaction with matter. The equations of nature are
background independent in this sense; there is no space-time geometry on which
matter propagates without backreaction of matter on geometry. Since matter is
described by quantum theory, which in turn couples to geometry, we need a quan-
tum theory of gravity. The absence of a viable quantum gravity theory to date is
due to the fact that quantum (field) theory as currently formulated assumes that
a background geometry is available, thus being inconsistent with the principles of
general relativity. In order to construct quantum gravity, one must reformulate
quantum theory in a background-independent way. Modern Canonical Quantum
General Relativity is about one such candidate for a background-independent
quantum gravity theory: loop quantum gravity.
This book provides plete treatise of the canonical quantization of gen-
eral relativity. The focus is on detailing the conceptual and mathematical frame-
work, describing the physical applications, and summarizing the status of this
programme in its most popular incarnation: loop quantum gravity. Mathemat-
ical concepts and their relevance to physics are provided within this book, so
it is suitable for graduate students and researchers with a basic knowledge of
quantum field theory and general relativity.
Thomas Thiemann is Staff Scientist at the Max Planck Institut f¨ur
Gravitationsphysik (Albert Einstein Institut), Potsdam, Germany. He is also
a long-term researcher at the Perim