I will present Internal Relativity, a new approach to the problem of quantum gravity. The approach is based on the premise that spacetime notions are not primary but derive from the dynamics of the matter degrees of freedom. That is, there is no pure gravity sector and geometry is an inferred property of the emergent matter excitations. One can show that a curved Lorentzian geometry arises naturally and that Newtonian gravity is present in the slow velocity limit. We will then look at the consequences of this approach for early universe cosmology. A new explanation of the observed spectrum of the cosmic microwave background is possible, with the flat spectrum of primordial perturbations a signature of a phase transition that produced the smooth geometry we currently observe.
Room 348 at Theresienstr. 37
