• Emergenza
• Fondamentalità
• Gravità quantistica
• Universalità

The broad goal of quantum gravity projects is the formulation of a theory that
combines and integrates general relativity and quantum field theory. Group
field theory, a promising candidate for a theory of quantum gravity, depicts
the universe as a quantum many-body system resulting from the collective
behaviour of an underlying set of discrete, pre-geometric quantum entities
called atoms of space(time). These quantum entities cannot be interpreted in
terms of either gravitational or geometric properties. Rather, it is the very
interaction among them which is supposed to allow for the “emergence”
of spacetime in a phase transition termed geometrogenesis. The aim of the
present project is to provide an in-depth analysis of the premises, methodologies
and theoretical consequences of the group field theory approach. In particular,
my objective will be to scrutinize some interpretative facets appearing
in this approach to quantum gravity, such as what notion of discreteness
can be defined in a non-spatiotemporal environment, what are the features
of geometrogenesis, and what is the role played by the so-called relational
strategy in the cosmological sector of the theory. Moreover, I will explore the
interplay between the notions of fundamentality and universality, as well
as the explanatory import of renormalization group methods to account for
such interplay. Finally, I will try to understand whether and how the emergence
of spacetime in group field theory can be characterized in functional
terms and what implications for the ontology of spacetime follow from this
theoretical scenario.