Charles Francis
Charles Francis | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Relational quantum theory incorporating gravity; critique of standard cosmology |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics, Cosmology |
Charles Francis is a researcher who has published on the foundations of quantum theory and cosmology, known for a relational formulation of quantum theory intended to incorporate gravity. They are listed in The Worldwide List of Dissident Scientists.
Ideas
In the paper "A Relational Quantum Theory Incorporating Gravity" (arXiv:gr-qc/0508077), Francis develops a model based on the relationist principle that the position of an object can only be defined with respect to other matter, rather than against a fixed background space-time in the manner of Newtonian space. The formulation uses quantum logic to describe hypothetical measurement results and introduces a connection Francis calls a "teleconnection" between initial and final states, using teleparallelism and a generalisation of Bondi's k-calculus to describe a metric in terms of particle interactions.
Francis reports deriving the Schwarzschild solution for a system containing a single elementary particle in a position eigenstate. Among the cosmological consequences he draws, Francis argues that supernova redshift data are consistent with a universe of nearly twice critical density with zero cosmological constant and no cold dark matter, and that Milgrom's phenomenological MOND relation is obeyed. These conclusions place the work outside the standard cosmological (Lambda-CDM) framework, and de Climont's directory lists Francis under critics of the Big Bang.