Background-Independence

Abstract

Intuitively speaking, a classical field theory is background-independent if the structure required to make sense of its equations is itself subject to dynamical evolution, rather than being imposed ab initio. The aim of this paper is to provide an explication of this intuitive notion. Background-independence is not a not formal property of theories: the question whether a theory is background-independent depends upon how the theory is interpreted. Under the approach proposed here, a theory is fully background-independent relative to an interpretation if each physical possibility corresponds to a distinct spacetime geometry; and it falls short of full background-independence to the extent that this condition fails.

Forthcoming in General Relativity and Gravitation

References in corpus (5)

• Some remarks on the notions of general covariance and background independence
• Asymptotic Symmetries and Charges in De Sitter Space
• A Definition of Background Independence
• Scalar Gravitation and Extra Dimensions
• Cosmological measurements, time and observables in (2+1)-dimensional gravity

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• Einstein's Equations for Spin $2$ Mass $0$ from Noether's Converse Hilbertian Assertion
• Gauge symmetry and background independence: Should the proton spin decomposition be path independent?
• Can Bohmian Mechanics Be Made Background Independent?
• A proposal for a Bohmian ontology of quantum gravity
• General Relativity and Background Independence