Quantum Fields, Geometric Fluctuations, and the Structure of Spacetime
Abstract
Quantum fluctuations of the vacuum stress-energy tensor are highly non-Gaussian, and can have unexpectedly large effects on spacetime geometry. In this paper, we study a two-dimensional dilaton gravity model coupled to a conformal field, in which the distribution of vacuum fluctuations is well understood. In this model, the fluctuations of the matter field are responsible for the fluctuations of the geometry itself. By analyzing the geodesic deviation in this model, we show that a pencil of massive particles propagating on this fuzzy spacetime eventually converges and collapses. This is consistent with our earlier analysis of null geodesics in [Phys. Rev. Lett.\ 107, 021303 (2011)].
Cite
@article{arxiv.1809.08265,
title = {Quantum Fields, Geometric Fluctuations, and the Structure of Spacetime},
author = {S. Carlip and Ricardo A. Mosna and J. P. M. Pitelli},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1809.08265},
year = {2020}
}
Comments
5 pages, 5 figures. v3: major revision. The fluctuations of the stress-energy tensor are now allowed to act independently on different spacetime patches. The text has been updated accordingly. v4: typos corrected, final published version