Problems on Foundations of General Relativity

Abstract

It was generally believed that, in general relativity, the fundamental laws of nature should be invariant or covariant under a general coordinate transformation. In general relativity, the equivalence principle tells us the existence of a local inertial coordinate system and the fundamental laws in the local inertial coordinate system which are the same as those in inertial reference system. Then, after a general coordinate transformation, the fundamental laws of nature in arbitrary coordinate system or in arbitrary curved space-time can be obtained. However, through a simple example, we find that, under a general coordinate transformation, basic physical equations in general relativity do not transform covariantly, especially they do not preserve their forms under the transformation from a local inertial coordinate system to a curved space-time. The origination of the violation of the general covariance is then studied, and a general theory on general coordinate transformations is developed. Because of the the existence of the non-homogeneous term, the fundamental laws of nature in arbitrary curved space-time can not be expressed by space-time metric, physical observable and their derivatives. In other words, basic physical equations obtained from the equivalence principle and the principle of general covariance are different from those in general relativity. Both the equivalence principle and the principle of general covariance can not be treated as foundations of general relativity. So, what are the foundations of General Relativity? Such kind of essential problems on General Relativity can be avoided in the physical picture of gravity. Quantum gauge theory of gravity, which is founded in the physics picture of gravity, does not have such kind of fundamental problems.