Approaches to quantum gravity [Elektronische Ressource] : Loop quantum gravity, spinfoams and Topos approach / Cecilia Flori. Gutachter: Christopher J. Isham ; Jan Plefka ; Thomas Thiemann

Approaches To Quantum GravityLoop Quantum Gravity, Spinfoams and Topos ApproachDISSERTATIONzur Erlangung des akademischen GradesDr. Rer. Natim Fach Physikeingereicht an derMathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät IHumboldt-Universität zu BerlinvonMaster-Phys. Frau Cecilia Flori18.11.1980, RomaPräsident der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin:Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Christoph MarkschiesDekan der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät I:Prof. Dr. Lutz-Helmut SchönGutachter:1. Prof. Dr. Christopher J. Isham2. Prof. Dr. Jan Plefka3. Prof. Dr. Thomas Thiemanneingereicht am: 07-09-2009Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 23-07-2010AbstractOne of the main challenges in theoretical physics over the last five decades has been toreconcile quantum mechanics with general relativity into a theory of quantum gravity.However, such a theory has been proved to be hard to attain due to i) conceptual difficultiespresentinboththecomponenttheories(GeneralRelativity(GR)andQuantumTheory); ii)lack of experimental evidence, since the regimes at which quantum gravity is expected to beapplicable are far beyond the range of conceivable experiments. Despite these difficulties,various approaches for a theory of Quantum Gravity have been developed.In this thesis we focus on two such approaches: Loop Quantum Gravity and the Topostheoretic approach.