Crowther K. Effective Spacetime: Understanding Emergence in Effective Field Theory and Quantum Gravity

Springer, 2016. – 209 p. – ISBN10: 3319395068This book discusses the notion that quantum gravity may represent the "breakdown" of spacetime at extremely high energy scales. If spacetime does not exist at the fundamental level, then it has to be considered "emergent", in other words an effective structure, valid at low energy scales. The author develops a conception of emergence appropriate to effective theories in physics, and shows how it applies (or could apply) in various approaches to quantum gravity, including condensed matter approaches, discrete approaches, and loop quantum gravity.
Topics
Classical and Quantum Gravitation, Relativity Theory
Cosmology
History and Philosophical Foundations of PhysicsIntroduction: Spacetime and Quantum Gravity
Emergence and Reduction
Effective Field Theory
Universality, Higher Organising Principles and Emergence
Spacetime as Described by EFT
Discrete Approaches to Quantum Gravity
Loop Quantum Gravity
Conclusion: Now Here from Nowhere