Einstein,
Wheeler and others once entertained the possibility that
the interplay of only two forces (gravitation and electromagnetism) might be sufficient
to generate the growing zoo of elementary particles which are now attributed mostly to nuclear
forces (weak and strong).
In that context, a
Canonical theory of quantum gravity
was devised following the canonical quantization recipes
put forth by Dirac in 1925.
Current loop quantum gravity is an extension thereof.
Preliminary work was done by
Valya Bargmann (1908-1989)
who had been an assistant to Einstein.
He had published with him and Peter Bergman (1915-2002)
on five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein theory (1941).
Wheeler also credited one of his students, called Edward Fereman (and colleagues
at the University of Rochester).
What's now universally known as the Wheeler-DeWitt equation (WdW)
was born during a two-hour stopover of John Wheeler at Raleigh-Durham airport in North
Carolina. He took that opportunity to meet with Bryce DeWitt, then at the
University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At that time, they pondered the
Hamilton-Jacobi
equation of general relativity, put forth in 1962 by
Asher Peres
(né Aristide Pressman, 1934-2005).
At first, Wheeler called WdW the Einstein-Schrödinger equation
while DeWitt dubbed it either the Wheeler equation or "that damn equation",
which leaves little doubt about his mixed feelings...
Canonical quantum gravity
|
Wheeler-DeWitt equation
John Archibald Wheeler (1908-2011)
|
Bryce DeWitt (1923-2004)
BR>
The strange equation of quantum gravity by Carlo Rovelli (2015-06-03)
The Wheeler-Dewitt equation (5:40)
by John Wheeler (Web of Stories).
The Wheeler-Dewitt equation (31:15)
by Renate Loll (2017-08-15).
La gravité quantique tue le temps (1:05:57 French)
by Carlo Rovelli (2014-04).
