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arXiv · 0705.2643

Symmetries,Singularities and the De-Emergence of Space

Thibault Damour·Hermann Nicolai
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Abstract

Recent work has revealed intriguing connections between a Belinsky-Khalatnikov-Lifshitz-type analysis of spacelike singularities in General Relativity and certain infinite dimensional Lie algebras, and in particular the `maximally extended' hyperbolic Kac--Moody algebra E10. In this essay we argue that these results may lead to an entirely new understanding of the (quantum) nature of space(-time) at the Planck scale, and hence -- via an effective `de-emergence' of space near a singularity -- to a novel mechanism for achieving background independence in quantum gravity.

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Thibault Damour, Hermann Nicolai. 2007-05-18. Symmetries,Singularities and the De-Emergence of Space. https://doi.org/10.1142/s0218271808012206

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