Quantum theory is a general theoretical framework to describe states and interactions in Nature. It does so successfully for the strong, weak, and electromagnetic interactions. Gravity is, however, still described by a classical theory – Einstein’s theory of general relativity, also called geometrodynamics. So far, general relativity seems to accommodate all observations which include gravity; there exist some phenomena which could in principle need a more general theory for their explanation (Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Pioneer Anomaly), but this is an open issue.
Quantum gravity would ultimately be a physical theory, both mathematically consistent and experimentally tested, that accommodates the gravitational interaction into the quantum framework. Such a theory is not yet available. Therefore, one calls quantum gravity all approaches which are candidates for such a theory or suitable approximations thereof. The following sections will first focus on the general motivation for constructing such a theory, and then introduce the approaches which at the moment look most promising.
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Kiefer, C. (2009). Quantum Gravity (General) and Applications. In: Greenberger, D., Hentschel, K., Weinert, F. (eds) Compendium of Quantum Physics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-70626-7_166
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