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Why Gauge?

Rovelli, Carlo (2013) Why Gauge? [Preprint]

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Abstract

The world appears to be well described by gauge theories; why? I suggest that gauge is more than mathematical redundancy. Gauge-dependent quantities can not be predicted, but there is a sense in which they can be measured. They describe ``handles" though which systems couple: they represent real relational structures to which the experimentalist has access in measurement by supplying one of the relata in the measurement procedure itself. This observation leads to a physical interpretation for the ubiquity of gauge: it is a consequence of a relational structure of physical quantities.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Rovelli, Carlorovelli@cpt.univ-mrs.fr0000-0003-1724-9737
Keywords: Gauge. Symmetry.
Subjects: General Issues > Structure of Theories
Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Depositing User: Carlo Rovelli
Date Deposited: 15 Nov 2013 13:51
Last Modified: 11 Jul 2024 13:15
Item ID: 10096
Subjects: General Issues > Structure of Theories
Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Date: 26 August 2013
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10096

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