DeWitt C.M., Rickles D. (eds.) The Role of Gravitation in Physics: Report from the 1957 Chapel Hill Conference

Edition Open Access, 2011. — 286 p.In January 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 sections: unquantized and quantized general relativity. The first section included a review of classical relativity, its experimental tests, the initial value problem, gravitational radiation, equations of motion, and unified field theory. The second section included a discussion of the motivation for quantization, the problem of measurement, and the actual techniques for quantization. In both sections the relationship of general relativity to fundamental particles was discussed. In addition there was a session devoted to cosmological questions. A large part of the discussions is reproduced in the present report in an abridged form, followed by a conference summary statement by P. G. Bergmann.
The Chapel Hill conference also marked the establishment of the Institute of Field Physics, directed by Bryce and Cécile DeWitt. The conference was the inaugural conference of this institute.The Chapel Hill Conference in Context (by Dean Rickles).
Foreword (by Cécile DeWitt).
Unquantized General Relativity (Chairman: B. S. DeWitt)
The Present Position of Classical Relativity Theory and Some of its Problems (by John Wheeler).
The Experimental Basis of Einstein's Theory (by R. H. Dicke).
Unquantized General Relativity, Continued (Chairman: P. G. Bergmann)
On the Integration of the Einstein Equations (by André Lichnerowicz).
Remarks on Global Solutions (by C. W. Misner).
Solving The Initial Value Problem Using Cartan Calculus (by Y. Fourès).
Some Remarks on Cosmological Models (by R. W. Bass, L. Witten).
Unquantized General Relativity, Continued (Chairman: H. Bondi)
Gravitational Waves (by L. Marder, Presented by H. Bondi).
Gravitational Field of an Axially Symmetric System (by N. Rosen, H. Shamir, Presented by F. Pirani).
The Dynamics of a Lattice Universe (by R. W. Lindquist).
Invited Reports on Cosmology (Chairman: F. J. Belinfante)
Measurable Quantities that May Enable Questions of Cosmology to be Answered (by Thomas Gold).
Radio Astronomical Measurements of Interest to Cosmology (by A. E. Lilley).
Unquantized General Relativity, Concluded (Chairman: A. Lichnerowicz)
Measurement of Classical Gravitation Fields (by Felix Pirani).
Correspondence in the Generalized Theory of Gravitation (by Behram Kursunoglu).
Presentation of Work by T. Taniuchi (by Ryoyu Utiyama).
Negative Mass in General Relativity (by Hermann Bondi).
Quantized General Relativity (Chairman: J. A. Wheeler)
The Problems of Quantizing the Gravitational Field (by P. G. Bergmann).
Conceptual Clock Models (by H. Salecker).
The Three-Field Problem (by F. J. Belinfante).
Quantized General Relativity, Continued (Chairman: A. Schild)
Quantum Gravidynamics (by Bryce DeWitt).
Quantized General Relativity, Concluded (Chairman: V. Bargmann)
The Possibility of Gravitational Quantization.
The Necessity of Gravitational Quantization.
Closing Session (Chairman: B. S. DeWitt)
Divergences in Quantized General Relativity (by S. Deser).
Critical Comments (by R. P. Feynman).
Summary of Conference (by P. G. Bergmann).
An Expanded Version of the Remarks by R.P. Feynman on the Reality of Gravitational Waves.