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A Puzzle About General Covariance and Gauge
- Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- We consider two simple criteria for when a physical theory should be said to be "generally covariant", and we argue that these criteria are not met by Yang-Mills theory, even on geometric formulations of that theory. The reason, we show, is that the bundles encountered in Yang-Mills theory are not natural bundles; instead, they are gauge-natural. We then show how these observations relate to previous arguments about the significance of solder forms in assessing disanalogies between general relativity and Yang-Mills theory. We conclude by suggesting that general covariance is really about functoriality.<br />Comment: 26 pages, no figures
Details
- Database :
- arXiv
- Publication Type :
- Report
- Accession number :
- edsarx.2405.03906
- Document Type :
- Working Paper