Seminal Papers in Quantum Gravity?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around identifying seminal papers in the field of quantum gravity. Participants are seeking a concise list of influential works that are considered essential reading, particularly for those who are not professional physicists but are interested in the topic. The conversation touches on historical context and accessibility of these papers.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Historical

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about a list of seminal papers in quantum gravity, suggesting that there are foundational works that practitioners might assume others have read.
  • Another participant mentions that Rovelli's book contains a historical section with a bibliography and suggests it as a resource for finding seminal papers.
  • Links to citation lists of influential papers in quantum gravity are provided, indicating that many of these papers are available online.
  • There is a discussion about the availability of Rovelli's book draft, with some participants noting its transition to a published format while others assert that the draft remains accessible through specific links.
  • One participant highlights that many papers from the citation list are freely available online, including Hawking's 1975 paper on black holes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the existence of key papers in quantum gravity and the usefulness of certain resources, but there is no consensus on a definitive list of seminal papers. The discussion remains open-ended regarding which specific papers should be included.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference specific historical figures and papers, but the discussion does not resolve which papers are universally considered seminal or how to define "seminal" in this context.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for students, enthusiasts, and researchers in physics, particularly those interested in the historical development and foundational papers of quantum gravity.

inflector
Messages
344
Reaction score
2
Is there a list somewhere here of the seminal papers in quantum gravity?

I recently ran across a paper/chapter by Ashtekar: Non-perturbative Quantum Gravity: What and Why? from a 1991 book Lectures on non-perturbative canonical gravity by Abhay Ashtekar, Ranjeet S. Tate when googling to find out what a preferred foliation was.

It was very interesting and made me think.

It also made me realize that there were probably some interesting seminal papers on quantum gravity from the early days which people assume you have read. Does anyone here have a relatively short list (say less than 20) of the must-read papers in quantum gravity? This seems like the kind of list a true aficionado or practitioner might keep.

Especially any that might be relatively accessible to a non-professional that is still learning?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Rovelli's book has a history section, with bibliography.

A draft of the book is available free online at his website, just google "carlo rovelli", or if you can't find it there look at the list of handy QG links in "Introduction to LQG" thread.
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=2904073#post2904073

Please say if you have any trouble finding it. As I recall he has a kind of time-line account going back to Wheeler and DeWitt (maybe earlier). Also there is historical background in several of the early chapters.
 
marcus said:
Rovelli's book has a history section, with bibliography.

A draft of the book is available free online at his website, just google "carlo rovelli", or if you can't find it there look at the list of handy QG links in "Introduction to LQG" thread.
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=2904073#post2904073

Please say if you have any trouble finding it. As I recall he has a kind of time-line account going back to Wheeler and DeWitt (maybe earlier). Also there is historical background in several of the early chapters.

It looks like he took the draft off as it's now published and available on Amazon and Cambridge University Press. :frown:
 
Thanks unusualname and marcus, I'm sure I can start and branch out from there.
 
inflector said:
It looks like he took the draft off as it's now published and available on Amazon and Cambridge University Press. :frown:

heh heh, no the draft PDF is still online, you just have to use the physicsforums link I posted. If you go there, it's in a short list labeled "classic online sources"
 
marcus said:
heh heh, no the draft PDF is still online, you just have to use the physicsforums link I posted. If you go there, it's in a short list labeled "classic online sources"

Ah, handy thing this internet. Thanks marcus.
 

Similar threads

Undergrad Witten’s paper: "A Note On The Canonical Formalism for Gravity" LQG
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
7K
Graduate Thermodynamic Approaches to Quantum Gravity: Discussion
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Undergrad Ads/CFT and Ashtekar variables or spinfoam
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
Undergrad Two recent tests of loop quantum gravity theory
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
6K
Graduate Higgs inflation and quadratic gravity
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
4K
Undergrad The standard model from loop quantum gravity via spinors octonions
  • · Replies 26 ·
Replies
26
Views
6K
Graduate The no boundary proposal and quantum gravity
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
6K
Graduate Singularity structure being valid for all QFTs?
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
Graduate Quantum Gravity -- intro papers for 2nd year MSc student?
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
Graduate Search for literature on Quantum Gravity
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
4K