Weak equivalence principle from a spontaneously broken gauge theory of gravity

Further consequences of a finite topological field theory for gravity based on the SL(5. R) gauge group are reported. After symmetry breaking, it induces four-dimensional Einstein spaces with a cosmological constant related to the tiny scale of the symmetry breaking. It is shown that not only a 'background' metric emerges from a Higgs-like mechanism, but also consistently the geodesic equation central to Einstein's equivalence principle. In next order of the symmetry breaking scale, the induced torsion could even provoke a tiny Lorentz violation. (c) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.