The Weyl anomaly and the nature of the background geometry

Abstract

The Weyl anomaly problem is treated within a purely geometrical context. Arguments are given that hint at a possible classical origin of the conformal anomaly in the Riemannian nature of the background geometry where the matter fields play out their dynamics. Some considerations allowing for a possible resolution of the Weyl anomaly problem are briefly outlined. Following the spirit of the standard model of the fundamental interactions, it is argued that the Weyl anomaly should be a consequence of the breaking of the gauge symmetry at some stage during the evolution of the universe.