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Beyond Einstein's Theory of Relativity, New Theory of Everything tries to explain Gravity
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Beyond Einstein's Theory of Relativity, New Theory of Everything tries to explain Gravity
Sayan Sen
Neowin
·
May 10, 2025 17:24 EDT
For years, scientists have tried to combine gravity with the Standard Model of particle physics, which explains three of the four main forces in nature—electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force. Gravity has always been tricky because it doesn’t fit well with the rules of quantum physics. Now, researchers at Aalto University, Mikko Partanen and Jukka Tulkki, have come up with a new theory that might finally solve the puzzle with a "New Theory of Everything."
"If this turns out to lead to a complete quantum field theory of gravity, then eventually it will give answers to the very difficult problems of understanding singularities in black holes and the Big Bang," Partanen says.
"A theory that coherently describes all fundamental forces of nature is often called the Theory of Everything," he adds. "Some fundamental questions of physics still remain unanswered. For example, the present theories do not yet explain why there is more matter than antimatter in the observable universe."
The Standard Model uses neat, compact mathematical rules to describe how particles interact. But gravity, as explained by Einstein’s general relativity, works differently—it relies on complex, infinite-dimensional spacetime concepts. This difference has made it difficult for scientists to bring gravity into the same framework as the other forces.
Partanen and Tulkki’s new approach creates a gauge theory of gravity that works similarly to how electromagnetism does in the Standard Model. The key to their idea is an eight-spinor representation of the Lagrangian, which includes a special quantity called the space-time dimension field. This helps translate eight-dimensional spinor information into the four-dimensional spacetime we experience.
By using four U(1) symmetries, the researchers developed a new unified gravity theory. The way gravity works in their model comes from these symmetries, leading directly to a mathematical description of the stress-energy-momentum tensor, which is the source term for gravity.
One important feature of unified gravity is that it produces a version of general relativity known as the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity (TEGR) in a particular setup called the Weitzenböck gauge. It also allows for an alternative description where gravity fits naturally into the Minkowski metric, a key concept in quantum field theory.
Unlike Einstein’s general relativity, where the metric of spacetime is tied directly to gravity, unified gravity treats the Minkowski metric as a fundamental part of its structure. This means gravity and the other forces in the Standard Model can be described together in a single consistent mathematical framework.
One of the biggest challenges in any quantum gravity theory is making sure calculations don’t produce infinite results. To solve this, the researchers studied renormalization—a technique that adjusts calculations to keep them finite. They tested their method at one-loop order and set up Feynman rules for their theory.
Importantly, they showed that their model respects Becchi–Rouet–Stora–Tyutin (BRST) symmetry, a key requirement for gauge theories. Their theory also has a dimensionless coupling constant, which suggests that unified gravity could be a fully renormalizable quantum theory of gravity—something previous attempts have struggled with.
There’s still work to do. One big hurdle is making sure renormalization works beyond the simplest calculations. “If renormalization doesn’t work for higher-order terms, you’ll get infinite results. So it’s vital to show that this renormalization continues to work,” explains Tulkki.
Despite the challenges, Partanen is optimistic. “I can’t say when, but I can say we’ll know much more about that in a few years,” he says. The researchers hope that by publishing their work now, other scientists will review it, test it, and help refine it further.
If this theory holds up, it could change our understanding of gravity in the same way Einstein’s discoveries did. Just as general relativity eventually helped create technologies like GPS, this new approach could open doors to unexpected breakthroughs in physics.
Source: Aalto University, IOP Publishing | Image via Depositphotos
This article was generated with some help from AI and reviewed by an editor.
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