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Consequences of Propagating Torsion in Connection-Dynamic Theories of Gravity

Sean M. Carroll·George B. Field
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Abstract

We discuss the possibility of constraining theories of gravity in which the connection is a fundamental variable by searching for observational consequences of the torsion degrees of freedom. In a wide class of models, the only modes of the torsion tensor which interact with matter are either a massive scalar or a massive spin-1 boson. Focusing on the scalar version, we study constraints on the two-dimensional parameter space characterizing the theory. For reasonable choices of these parameters the torsion decays quickly into matter fields, and no long-range fields are generated which could be discovered by ground-based or astrophysical experiments.

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BibTeXRIS

Sean M. Carroll, George B. Field. 1994-06-16. Consequences of Propagating Torsion in Connection-Dynamic Theories of Gravity. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.50.3867

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