Quantum Gravity -- intro papers for 2nd year MSc student?

[YellowBiro]

Basically, I'm a Physics/Math MSc student. Currently strengthening my background in Diff. Geo., QFT, GR. I feel like I should start reading some research papers on Quantum Gravity but I do not know where to start.

What papers should I start with? I need papers that are accessible to 2nd year postgrads, but that also give a glimpse of the frontier. Maybe this is asking too much though. But at the very least I search for research papers that give an good introduction to Quantum Gravity topics, either to just one approach or an overview of all.

 

[David Horgan]

Hi YellowBiro,

May I make suggest a few things to get you started on learning about quantum gravity. I've personally read and found a number of books very useful so I'll list them below, as you'll notice I have a decided preference for the Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics and the IoP Graduate Student Series:

• A First Course in String Theory by Barton Zwiebach
  
• A First Course in Loop Quantum Gravity by Rodolfo Gambini and Jorge Pullin
• Approaches to Quantum Gravity: Toward a New Understanding of Space, Time and Matter by Daniele Oriti
  
• Quantum Gravity (Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics) by Carlo Rovelli
  
• Covariant Loop Quantum Gravity: An Elementary Introduction to Quantum Gravity and Spinfoam Theory (Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics) by Carlo Rovelli and Francesca Vidotto
  
• Modern Canonical Quantum General Relativity (Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics) by Thomas Thiemann
  
• Particle Physics of Brane Worlds and Extra Dimensions (Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics) by Sreerup Raychaudhuri and K. Sridhar
  
• Superstring Theory - 25th Anniversary Edition (Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics),Volumes 1and 2 by Michael B. Green, John H. Schwarz, Edward Witten
  
• The World in Eleven Dimensions: Supergravity, supermembranes and M-theory (Series in High Energy Physics, Cosmology and Gravitation)by M.J Duff
• Cosmology in Gauge Field Theory and String Theory (Graduate Student Series in Physics) by D. Bailin and Alexander Love
  
• Supersymmetric Gauge Field Theory and String Theory (Graduate Student Series in Physics) by D. Bailin and Alexander Love
  
• Geometry, Topology and Physics (Graduate Student Series in Physics) by Mikio Nakahara

That's probably enough books to get started with, to be honest.

Now for papers, I suggest, if you haven't already do so, making yourself familiar with arxiv especially https://arxiv.org/list/gr-qc/recent, there are thousands and thousands of papers.

Some I particularly like are:

• LQG for the Bewildered by Sundance Bilson-Thompson, Deepak Vaid https://arxiv.org/abs/1402.3586
• D-Brane Primer by Clifford V. Johnson https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0007170

Also see the Living Reviews in Relativity https://www.springer.com/gp/livingreviews/relativity/lrr-articles. For example:

• Brane-World Gravity by Roy Maartens and Kazuya Koyama https://link.springer.com/article/10.12942/lrr-2010-5

I hope you'll find this useful if you have any questions get in touch.

 

[martinbn]

Basically, I'm a Physics/Math MSc student. Currently strengthening my background in Diff. Geo., QFT, GR. I feel like I should start reading some research papers on Quantum Gravity but I do not know where to start.

Why do you feel that way? Why not read research papers on Diff. Geo., QFT, GR?

 

[David Horgan]

Hi martinbn,

The texts I've recommended to YellowBiro are designed to take postgraduates and researchers to the forefront of a research area and to be able to pick up a research paper, Thesis or arxiv article and to understand them. I have found graduate texts or monographs are the most effective and efficient way of doing this since they often begin from an undergraduate level and build clearly and concisely upon that.

Research papers themselves tend to start at a very high level and have a much steeper learning curve. They also to focus on a very small area within a topic. I feel that Review papers and monographs are a much better starting place.

 

[martinbn]

Hi David Horgan,

I have no objections to you list, it seems like a very good list. I was just asking why YellowBiro feels that he needs to read papers on quantum gravity when he is studying GR, QFT and Diff.Geo.