The roots of scalar-tensor theory: an approximate history
Abstract
Why are there no fundamental scalar fields actually observed in physics today? Scalars are the simplest fields, but once we go beyond Galilean-Newtonian physics they appear only in speculations, as possible determinants of the gravitational constants in the so-called Scalar-Tensor theories in non-quantum physics, and as Higgs particles, dilatons, etc., in quantum physics. Actually, scalar fields have had a long and controversial life in gravity theories, with a history of deaths and resurrections. This paper presents a brief overview of this history.
- Publication:
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arXiv e-prints
- Pub Date:
- June 2005
- DOI:
- 10.48550/arXiv.gr-qc/0506063
- arXiv:
- arXiv:gr-qc/0506063
- Bibcode:
- 2005gr.qc.....6063B
- Keywords:
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- General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology