A conference on The Role of Gravitation in Physics was held at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, from January 18 to January 23, 1957. It was planned as a working session to discuss problems in the theory of gravitation which have recently received attention.
The present report was undertaken as a necessary requirement to obtain conference funds. However, as the conference progressed, it became more and more apparent that a report of the discussions would have a scientific interest, partly because of an increasing number of requests for a report from physicists unable to attend the conference, and partly because of the nature of the discussions.
Research in gravitational theory has been relatively neglected in the past two or three decades for several good reasons: (1) the lack of experimental guideposts, (2) the mathematical difficulties encountered in the study of non-linear fields, and (3) the experience of repeated early failures to extend general relativity theory in a permanently interesting fashion. A renewed interest in the subject has recently begun to develop, and the Chapel Hill conference gave an opportunity to the few physicists actively working in the field - some having kept up an interest in it in spite of its difficulties, others having lately engaged in its study, often from a new point of view - to discuss the preliminary results obtained and to present new lines of approach.
This situation gave rise to very lively discussions. Obviously, most of the material discussed is not ready for publication yet and - owing to the difficulty of the problems under consideration - may not be for a long time to come. That is why an informal report of the proceedings is valuable, but at the same time delicate to write up. An effort has been made to check with the authors the report of their contributions to the conference, and some have very kindly rewritten the draft proposed to them. However, the time allotted to the preparation of the report had to be limited, because the usefulness of such a report decreases with time more rapidly than its quality increases; moreover, the reporters should not be asked to spend an undue amount of time working on the report, which could be better spent on original research. Consequently, no statement from this report can be quoted without explicit permission from the author.
The papers which are ready for publication will appear in the July 1957 issue of Reviews of Modern Physics. A brief summary of the conference intended for non-specialists has been sent to Science.
It can hardly be said that the report gives a perfectly true picture of the conference. The report has been prepared from notes taken during the session, from material given by the authors, and from tape recordings. (The reporters had hoped to have a stenographic transcript available, but the cost of this transcript was beyond common sense.) Some contributions have been very appreciably abridged, some are reproduced practically verbatim, some are extended, and some have not been recorded, depending largely on the “communication” (both material and intellectual) between authors on the one hand and reporters and editors on the other.
At the end of the conference, the participants expressed - together with their belief in the importance of the subject matter - the wish to meet again, if possible in Europe in the summer of 1958. Such meetings should truly give an opportunity for discussions and for contacts between senior physicists who have a broad and thorough understanding of the subject and younger physicists of various backgrounds who have an interest in it. The need is also felt for discussions and contacts between workers in the field for periods of time longer than conferences.
Thanks are due to the sponsors, the members of the steering committee, and the members of the Physics Department of the University of North Carolina. The interest shown in the conference by Governor Luther H. Hodges and by the officers of the University was very gratifying. Special mention should be made of the cooperation of the University Extension Division and of the many individuals who assisted in hospitality arrangements for the conferees. To all who have made the Chapel Hill conference possible and have helped in its organization, this report is dedicated as a token of appreciation.
Cécile M. DeWitt
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
March 15, 1957
Abstract
From January 18-23, 1957, a group of physicists from several countries met at the University of North Carolina to discuss the role of gravitation in physics. The program was divided into two broad headings: Unquantized and quantized general relativity. Under the former came a review of classical relativity, its experimental tests, the initial value problem,
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
CONFERENCE ON THE ROLE OF GRAVITATION IN PHYSICS
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, January 18-23, 1957
UNDER THE SPONSORSHIP
OF THE
International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, with financial support from
UNESCO
National Science Foundation
Wright Air Development Center, U.S. Air Force
Office of Ordnance Research, U.S. Army
This conference was an activity of the North Carolina Project of the Institute of Field Physics, established in 1956 in the Department of Physics of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Its organization has been carried out through the Institute of Natural Science of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
STEERING COMMITTEE
Frederick J. Belinfante, Purdue University
Peter G. Bergmann, Syracuse University
Bryce S. DeWitt, University of North Carolina
Cécile M. DeWitt, University of North Carolina
Freeman J. Dyson, Institute for Advanced Study
John A. Wheeler, Princeton University
MARCH 19571
Wright Air Development Center
Air Research and Development Command
United States Air Force
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
Reporters
W. A. Bowers
B. S. DeWitt
Cécile M. DeWitt
M. M. Duncan
J. M. Ging
J. R. Herring
E. M. Lynch
A. V. Masket
Eugen Merzbacher
Technical editor and typist
Ouida C. Taylor
Scientific editors
Cécile M. DeWitt
Bryce S. DeWitt