2005/12/01 by Wolfgang Kummer, Kummer, Wolfgang
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #Relativity and Gravitational Theory
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.gr-qc/0512010
openalex publication_date 2005/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
From the point of view of an uncompromising field theorist quantum gravity is beset with serious technical and, above all, conceptual problems with regard especially to the meaning of genuine "physical" observables. This situation is not really improved by the appearance of recent attempts to reformulate gravity within some novel framework.However, the original aim, a background-independent quantum theory of gravity, can be achieved in a particular area, namely 2d dilaton quantum gravity without any assumptions beyond standard quantum field theory. Some important by-products of the research of the "Vienna School" include the introduction of the concept of Poisson-Sigma models, a verification of the "virtual Black Hole" and the extensions to N = (1,1) and N = (2,2) 2d-supergravity, for which complete solutions of some old problems have been possible which are relevant for superstring theory