Diffeomorphism Invariance and Background Independence

2025/09/30 by Tjandra, Kurniawan, Singh, Kuldip
#FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph)

paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2509.26450

Abstract

This paper answers examines the relationship between Diffeomorphism Invariance and Background Independence. First, a review of the relationship between Background Independence, General Relativity (GR) and pre-GR theories are given. Then, a wide range of other conceptions of background independence is discussed. It is shown that the definition of Background Independence is fluid and can mean different things to different philosophers and/or physicists. Most pertinently, the paper addresses the question of what kind of background independence is implied by a mathematical criterion of diffeomorphism invariance or in what sense is diffeomorphism invariance background independence. Lastly, the concept of haecceity in relation to diffeomorphism invariance is discussed.

Citations

• Background Independence, Diffeomorphism Invariance, and the Meaning of\n Coordinates
• The case for background independence
• Structure, Individuality and Quantum Gravity

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