Intrinsic Heisenberg-type lower bounds on spacelike hypersurfaces in general relativity
Abstract
In quantum theory on curved backgrounds, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle is usually discussed in terms of ensemble variances and flat-space commutators. Here we take a different, preparation-based viewpoint tailored to sharp position measurements on spacelike hypersurfaces in general relativity. A projective localization is modeled as a von Neumann-L\"uders projection onto a geodesic ball of radius on a Cauchy slice , with the post-measurement state described by Dirichlet data. Using DeWitt-type momentum operators adapted to an orthonormal frame, we construct a geometric, coordinate-invariant momentum standard deviation and show that strict confinement to enforces an intrinsic kinetic-energy floor. The lower bound is set by the first Dirichlet eigenvalue of the Laplace-Beltrami operator on the ball, , and is manifestly invariant under changes of coordinates and foliation. A variance decomposition separates the contribution of the modulus from phase-gradient fluctuations and clarifies how the spectral geometry of controls momentum uncertainty. Assuming only minimal geometric information, weak mean-convexity of the boundary yields a universal, scale-invariant Heisenberg-type product bound, , depending only on the proper radius .
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Cite
@article{arxiv.2510.01628,
title = {Intrinsic Heisenberg-type lower bounds on spacelike hypersurfaces in general relativity},
author = {Thomas Schürmann},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.01628},
year = {2026}
}
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23 pages