The number of fundamental constants from a spacetime-based perspective

We revisit Duff, Okun, and Veneziano's divergent views on the number of fundamental constants and argue that the issue can be set to rest by having spacetime as the starting point. This procedure disentangles the resolution in what depends on the assumed spacetime (whether relativistic or not) from the theories built over it. By defining that the number of fundamental constants equals the minimal number of independent standards necessary to express all observables, as assumed by Duff, Okun, and Veneziano, it is shown that the same units fixed by the apparatuses used to construct the spacetimes are enough to express all observables of the physical laws defined over them. As a result, the number of fundamental constants equals one in relativistic spacetimes.

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Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2024-09-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-71907-0
Citations
5
Primary Topic
Relativity and Gravitational Theory
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.66

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article

The number of fundamental constants from a spacetime-based perspective

Alberto Saa, Daniel A. T. Vanzella, George E. A. Matsas, V. Pleitez
5 citations
Scientific Reports
Relativity and Gravitational Theory
1.66
article

The number of fundamental constants from a spacetime-based perspective

Alberto Saa, Daniel A. T. Vanzella, George E. A. Matsas, V. Pleitez
article en
5 citations

Abstract

We revisit Duff, Okun, and Veneziano's divergent views on the number of fundamental constants and argue that the issue can be set to rest by having spacetime as the starting point. This procedure disentangles the resolution in what depends on the assumed spacetime (whether relativistic or not) from the theories built over it. By defining that the number of fundamental constants equals the minimal number of independent standards necessary to express all observables, as assumed by Duff, Okun, and Veneziano, it is shown that the same units fixed by the apparatuses used to construct the spacetimes are enough to express all observables of the physical laws defined over them. As a result, the number of fundamental constants equals one in relativistic spacetimes.

Scientific ReportsVol. 14(1)
Universidade de São Paulo (BR), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) (BR), Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information Innsbruck (AT), Institute of Physics (PL)
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Institut für Quantenoptik und Quanteninformation
Openalex Percentile: Top 16%
Relativity and Gravitational Theory
1.66
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