de Sitter Relativity: a New Road to Quantum Gravity?

TL;DR

De Sitter relativity extends special relativity by incorporating the de Sitter group, allowing for a determination of the cosmological constant and offering a new approach to quantum gravity through high-energy kinematics.

Contribution

This work introduces de Sitter relativity as a generalization of special relativity, linking the cosmological constant to high-energy physics and proposing a novel paradigm for quantum gravity.

Findings

Predicts the value of the cosmological constant from fundamental quantities.

Explains the cosmic coincidence problem.

Estimates time delays in gamma-ray flares using de Sitter relativity.

Abstract

The Poincare' group generalizes the Galilei group for high-velocity kinematics. The de Sitter group is assumed to go one step further, generalizing Poincare' as the group governing high-energy kinematics. In other words, ordinary special relativity is here replaced by de Sitter relativity. In this theory, the cosmological constant is no longer a free parameter, and can be determined in terms of other quantities. When applied to the whole universe, it is able to predict the value of the cosmological constant and to explain the cosmic coincidence. When applied to the propagation of ultra-high energy photons, it gives a good estimate of the time delay observed in extragalactic gamma-ray flares. It can, for this reason, be considered a new paradigm to approach the quantum gravity problem.