Is torsion needed in a theory of gravity? A reappraisal

TL;DR

This paper reviews the role of torsion in gravitational theories and concludes that the traditional General Relativity model without torsion remains sufficient and optimal for physical applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive reappraisal of torsion in gravity theories, arguing that torsion is unnecessary for describing physical spacetime.

Findings

Torsion is not required in the current models of gravity.

General Relativity's Lorentzian manifold suffices for all physical applications.

Introducing torsion does not improve the physical description of spacetime.

Abstract

It is known that General Relativity ({\bf GR}) uses a Lorentzian Manifold $(M_4;g)$ as a geometrical model of the physical spacetime. The metric $g$ is required to satisfy Einstein's equations. Since the 1960s many authors have tried to generalize this model by introducing torsion. In this paper we discuss the present status of torsion in a theory of gravity. Our conclusion is that the general-relativistic model of the physical spacetime is sufficient for the all physical applications and it seems to be the best satisfactory.