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Background Independence

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String Field Theory

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Physics ((LNP,volume 980))

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Abstract

Spacetime background independence is a fundamental property of any candidate quantum gravity theory. In this chapter, we outline the proof of background independence for the closed SFT by proving that the equations of motion of two backgrounds related by a marginal deformation are equivalent after a field redefinition.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This does not mean that the physics in all backgrounds are identical, but that the laws are. Hence, a computation made in one specific background can be translated into another background.

  2. 2.

    However, non-minimal coupling terms may be necessary to make the theory physical.

  3. 3.

    An alternative approach based on morphism of L ∞ algebra is followed in [4].

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Erbin, H. (2021). Background Independence. In: String Field Theory. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 980. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65321-7_16

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