Is empty spacetime a physical thing?

dc.creatorMeschini, Diego
dc.creatorLehto, Markku
dc.date2005-06-11
dc.date2005-10-24
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T06:38:13Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T06:38:13Z
dc.descriptionThis article deals with empty spacetime and the question of its physical reality. By "empty spacetime" we mean a collection of bare spacetime points, the remains of ridding spacetime of all matter and fields. We ask whether these geometric objects--themselves intrinsic to the concept of field--might be observable through some physical test. By taking quantum-mechanical notions into account, we challenge the negative conclusion drawn from the diffeomorphism invariance postulate of general relativity, and we propose new foundational ideas regarding the possible observation--as well as conceptual overthrow--of this geometric ether.
dc.description21 pages, Latex. v2: Section 5 expanded
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0506068
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0506068
dc.identifierFound.Phys. 36 (2006) 1193-1216
dc.identifierdoi:10.1007/s10701-006-9058-8
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/100663
dc.subjectGeneral Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
dc.titleIs empty spacetime a physical thing?
dc.typetext

Files

Collections