Research direction · 03
Relational physics
What becomes of physical description when reference frames are themselves dynamical systems—and quantum systems in quantum gravity?
Overview
General covariance makes the identification of local, gauge-invariant observables in gravity a subtle problem. My work approaches it constructively: physical localization is supplied by dynamical reference systems, and observables describe other fields relative to them.
I am particularly interested in extending this relational viewpoint beyond classical observables to the gravitational path integral, effective actions, and changes of quantum reference frame. The aim is a formulation in which the frame is explicit, physical predictions are gauge invariant, and the relation between different perspectives can be controlled systematically.
Questions
Questions I work on
- 01
How should relational observables be represented in gravitational path integrals?
- 02
When are quantum descriptions associated with different dynamical frames equivalent?
- 03
How does frame dependence appear in effective actions and renormalization-group flows?
Approach
How I approach it
The programme combines relational observables, quantum reference frames, field-space geometry, and covariant path-integral methods. A recurring theme is to distinguish genuine frame dependence from gauge dependence, and to formulate precise covariance identities connecting different relational descriptions.
Selected work