This textbook by Claus Kiefer offers a timely introduction to quantum gravity, a central theme in theoretical physics. It covers the main approaches to unifying quantum theory and the theory of relativity. The book is intended for researchers and students in relativity, quantum field theory, and related fields.
Contents
The search for a quantum theory of gravity is a fundamental problem in theoretical physics. This book discusses the methods and applications of quantum gravity with special attention to the quantization of gravitational fields and string theory. Both approaches use quantization of constructed systems, with examples tailored to gravitation.
The most important techniques are covered, such as path-integral quantization, the background field method, and canonical quantum gravity in different formulations. The comparison between quantum general relativity and string theory is also addressed. Practical applications such as the quantization of black holes, quantum cosmology, and the possible discrete structure of spacetime are explained in detail.
This third edition includes new chapters on quantum gravity phenomenology, Horava-Lifshitz quantum gravity, the holographic principle, and affine quantum gravity, supplemented with educational expansions.
Product specifications
- Author: Claus Kiefer (Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Cologne, Germany)
- Series: International Series of Monographs on Physics volume 155
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Publication date: 2012-04-05
- Number of pages: 408
- ISBN: 9780199585205
- Subject: Relativity physics
- BISAC: SCIENCE / Physics / Relativity
About the author
Claus Kiefer has been a professor at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Cologne since 2001.