Related papers: Vacuum and semiclassical gravity: a difficulty and…
Although general relativity is a predictively successful theory, it treats matter as classical rather than as quantum. For this reason, it will have to be replaced by a more fundamental quantum theory of gravity. Attempts to formulate a…
The search for a consistent and empirically established quantum theory of gravity is among the biggest open problems of fundamental physics. The obstacles are of formal and of conceptual nature. Here, I address the main conceptual problems,…
We study a class of theories in which space-time is treated classically, while interacting with quantum fields. These circumvent various no-go theorems and the pathologies of semi-classical gravity, by being linear in the density matrix and…
Shortly the vacuum component of the Universe from the geometry point of view and from the point of view of the standard model of physics of elementary particles is discussed. Some arguments are given to the calculated value of the…
Quantum gravity is the missing piece in our understanding of the fundamental interactions today. Given recent observational breakthroughs in gravity, providing a quantum theory for what lies beyond general relativity is more urgent than…
In the last 20 years, loop quantum gravity, a background independent approach to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics, has been widely investigated. The aim of loop quantum gravity is to construct a mathematically rigorous,…
We show how the scalar field, a candidate of quintessence, in a proposed model of the scalar-tensor theories of gravity provides a way to understand a small but nonzero cosmological constant as indicated by recent observations. A particular…
A well-defined regularized path integral for Lorentzian quantum gravity in three and four dimensions is constructed, given in terms of a sum over dynamically triangulated causal space-times. Each Lorentzian geometry and its associated…
We shall present here the causal interpretation of canonical quantum gravity in terms of new variables. Then we shall apply it to the minisuperspace of cosmology. A vacuum solution of quantum cosmology is obtained and the Bohmian trajectory…
A detailed review is given of the semiclassical approximation to quantum gravity in the canonical framework. This includes in particular the derivation of the functional Schr\"odinger equation and a discussion of semiclassical time as well…
The study of general two dimensional models of gravity allows to tackle basic questions of quantum gravity, bypassing important technical complications which make the treatment in higher dimensions difficult. As the physically important…
It is the goal of this thesis to revisit and revise the problem of black hole formation and evolution in semiclassical gravity -- a theory in which spacetime is treated classically, while matter admits a quantum description, coupling to…
It has been claimed in a recent paper \cite{bbfhd12} that sudden singularities will survive in semiclassical gravity. This issue is here carefully reviewed, pointing out that such conclusion, even if valid under some specific conditions,…
We show that the quantization ambiguities of loop quantum cosmology, when considered in wider generality, can be used to produce discretionary dynamical behavior. There is an infinite dimensional space of ambiguities which parallels the…
Loop quantum cosmology predicts that quantum gravity effects resolve the big-bang singularity and replace it by a cosmic bounce. Furthermore, loop quantum cosmology can also modify the form of primordial cosmological perturbations, for…
We consider the possibility that the goal of quantizing General Relativity should be abandoned in favor of Semiclassical Gravity. A formalism is provided for doing so. The quantum measurement problem is investigated in this context.…
Recent developments on Bell's experiments demonstrate that entanglement could indeed eliminate the gap between classical and quantum physics. At the same time, it is difficult for a classical theory to include a particular feature like…
After a short history of the $\Lambda$-term it is explained why the (effective) cosmological constant is expected to obtain contributions from short-distance physics, corresponding to an energy at least as large as the Fermi scale. The…
An action for two dimensional gravity conformally coupled to two dilaton-type fields is analysed. Classically, the theory has some exact solutions. These include configurations representing black holes. A semi-classical theory is obtained…
A argument is described for how deformed or doubly special relativity may arise in the semiclassical limit of a quantum theory of gravity. We consider a generic quantum theory of gravity coupled to matter, from which we use only the…