Abstract
Einstein's general relativity theory describes very well the gravitational phenomena in themacroscopic world. In themicroscopic domain of elementary particles, however, it does not exhibit gauge invariance or approximate Bjorken type scaling, properties which are believed to be indispensible for arenormalizable field theory. We argue that thelocal extension of space-time symmetries, such as of Lorentz and scale invariance, provides the clue for improvement. Eventually, this leads to aGL(4, R)-gauge approach to gravity in which the metric and the affine connection acquire the status ofindependent fields. The Yang-Mills type field equations, the Noether identities, and conformal models of gravity are discussed within this framework. After symmetry breaking, Einstein's GR surfaces as an effective “low-energy” theory.
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Based on a plenary talk given by one of us (EWM) at the 53rd annual meeting of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft in Bonn on March 14, 1989.
Supported by the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF), Jerusalem and Munich.
Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Bonn, project He 528/12-1.
Supported in part by DOE Grant DE-FG05-85-ER40200.
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Hehl, F.W., McCrea, J.D., Mielke, E.W. et al. Progress in metric-affine gauge theories of gravity with local scale invariance. Found Phys 19, 1075–1100 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01883159
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01883159