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The Substantial Role of Weyl Symmetry in Deriving General Relativity from String Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

John Dougherty
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Abstract

String theory reduces to general relativity in appropriate regimes. Huggett and Vistarini have given an account of this reduction that includes a deflationary thesis about symmetry: although the usual derivation of general relativity from string theory appeals to a premise about the theory’s symmetry, Huggett and Vistarini argue that this premise plays no logical role. In this article I disagree with their deflationary thesis and argue that their analysis is based on a popular but flawed conception of the interaction between symmetry and quantization. I argue that a better conception recognizes a distinction between ordinary, broken, and anomalous symmetries.

Type
Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 88 , Issue 5 , December 2021 , pp. 1149 - 1160
Copyright
Copyright 2021 by the Philosophy of Science Association. All rights reserved.

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