The roots of scalar-tensor theory: an approximate history

TL;DR

This paper reviews the historical development of scalar-tensor theories in gravity, highlighting their theoretical significance, periods of decline, and resurgence in scientific research.

Contribution

It provides an approximate historical overview of the evolution and significance of scalar fields in gravitational theories beyond Newtonian physics.

Findings

Scalar fields have a complex history with periods of both acceptance and skepticism.

Scalar-tensor theories have played a crucial role in alternative gravity models.

The paper traces the conceptual shifts and scientific debates surrounding scalar fields.

Abstract

Why are there no fundamental scalar fields actually observed in physics today? Scalars are the simplest fields, but once we go beyond Galilean-Newtonian physics they appear only in speculations, as possible determinants of the gravitational constants in the so-called Scalar-Tensor theories in non-quantum physics, and as Higgs particles, dilatons, etc., in quantum physics. Actually, scalar fields have had a long and controversial life in gravity theories, with a history of deaths and resurrections. This paper presents a brief overview of this history.