Bernadette Lessel

Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

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On the Relevance of the Unified Field Theory Program for the Genesis of Quantum Gravity

Léon Rosenfeld's article "Zur Quantelung der Wellenfelder" from 1930 is considered to mark the beginning of the systematic study of Quantum gravity in the modern sense. However, little attention has so far been paid to the circumstances that have led to the genesis of this paper. It is known that Wolfgang Pauli had prompted Rosenfeld to work on these issues; and it has further been recognized that the immediate stimulus for Pauli seemed to have been the reading of Hermann Weyl's paper "Elektron und Gravitation". What has, however, so far been neglected is the crucial fact that "Elektron und Gravitation" is in the very tradition of unified field theory in which Pauli himself held a lifelong interest.

I would argue that, contrary to the opinion one might be tempted to take from a contemporary perspective, quantum gravity did not solely arise as a logical product of the developments in the quantum field theory program; but that it had decisively needed the input of ideas and methodology of the unified field theory program in order to come to life, emphasizing at the same time Pauli's role and unique research background in this development as being essentially crucial.

התכנסות לקפה וכיבוד קל בשעה 17:45 ליד חדר 449

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