A Machian Approach to General Relativity

TL;DR

This paper explores a Machian approach to General Relativity, proposing that spacetime's existence depends on matter, which leads to resolving longstanding issues in GR and cosmology.

Contribution

It introduces a novel formulation of GR incorporating Mach's principle, fundamentally linking spacetime to material content and addressing unresolved problems.

Findings

Spacetime has no independent existence without matter.

The Machian approach resolves several mysteries in GR.

The theory avoids lingering problems of conventional cosmology.

Abstract

Mach's principle is surely one of those tantalizingly beautiful concepts in physics which remain elusive. Though General Relativity (GR) was conceived in the spirit of realizing it, the theory failed to fulfill this expectation. Here a study on the implications of imposing Mach's principle on GR with an insight that spacetime has no independent existence without a material background, is presented. This inclusion of the principle in GR turns out to be unexpectedly rewarding. The resulting theory solves many mysteries and averts lingering problems of the conventional forms of GR and cosmology.