Focusing on the conceptual and foundational issues raised by quantum gravity, in particular the nature of space and time, this book presents the loop and spinfoam approach. Aimed at graduate students entering the field, as well as established researchers, it will also be of interest to philosophers of science.

Carlo Rovelli was born in Verona, Italy, in 1956 and obtained his Ph.D. in Physics in Padua in 1986. In 1996, he was awarded the Xanthopoulos International Prize, for the development of the loop approach to quantum gravity and for research on the foundation of the physics of space and time. Over the years he has taught and worked in the University of Pittsburgh; Université de la Méditerraneé, Marseille; and Università La Sapienza, Rome. Professor Rovelli's main research interests lie in general relativity, gravitational physics, and the philosophy of space and time. He has had over 100 articles published in international journals in physics and has written contributions for major encyclopedias.

Preface; Acknowledgements; Terminology and notation; Part I. Relativistic Foundations: 1. General ideas and heuristic picture; 2. General relativity; 3. Mechanics; 4. Hamiltonian general relativity; 5. Quantum mechanics; Part II. Loop Quantum Gravity: 6. Quantum space; 7. Dynamics and matter; 8. Applications; 9. Quantum spacetime: spinfoams; 10. Conclusion; Part III. Appendices: References; Index.