Related papers: Volumes of Space as Subsystems

Group field theory is a background-independent approach to quantum gravity whose starting point is the definition of a quantum field theory on an auxiliary group manifold (not interpreted as spacetime, but rather as the finite-dimensional…

We challenge the widespread belief, originated by Newton and Wigner (Rev. Mod. Phys, 21, 400 (1949)) that the incorporation of special relativity into quantum mechanics implies that a massive particle cannot be localized within an…

We revisit the construction of models of quantum gravity in d dimensional Minkowski space in terms of random tensor models, and correct some mistakes in our previous treatment of the subject. We find a large class of models in which the…

In this essay based on 0907.2939, we argue that the emergence of classically connected spacetimes is intimately related to the quantum entanglement of degrees of freedom in a non-perturbative description of quantum gravity. Disentangling…

We investigate the extrinsic geometry of causal sets in $(1+1)$-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. The properties of boundaries in an embedding space can be used not only to measure observables, but also to supplement the discrete action in…

The framework of quantum symmetry reduction is applied to loop quantum gravity with respect to transitively acting symmetry groups. This allows to test loop quantum gravity in a large class of minisuperspaces and to investigate its features…

Quantum cosmology is traditionally formulated in a minisuperspace setting, implicitly averaging fields over space to obtain homogeneous models. For universal reasons related to the uncertainty principle, quantum corrections then depend on…

Quantization in the minisuperspace of non minimal scalar-tensor theories leads to a partial differential equation which is non separable. Through a conformal transformation we can recast the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in an integrable form,…

Systems under holonomic constraints are classified within the generalized Hamiltonian framework as second-class constraints systems. We show that each system of point particles with holonomic constraints has a hidden gauge symmetry which…

The trace over the degrees of freedom located in a subset of the space transforms the vacuum state into a density matrix with non zero entropy. This geometric entropy is believed to be deeply related to the entropy of black holes. Indeed,…

We make a critical review of the semiclassical interpretation of quantum cosmology and emphasise that it is not necessary to consider that a concept of time emerges only when the gravitational field is (semi)classical. We show that the…

Using spin 1/2 particle elastic scattering on a fixed target, in a 1/|x| potential on Euclidean metric, a minimum scattering cross section appears from the spin contribution. Interpreted as semi-classical limit of an earlier proposed…

In this note we review the concept of phase space in classical field theory, discussing several variations on the basic notion, as well as the relation between them. In particular we will focus on the case where the field theory admits…

A new functional calculus, developed recently for a fully non-perturbative treatment of quantum gravity, is used to begin a systematic construction of a quantum theory of geometry. Regulated operators corresponding to areas of 2-surfaces…

A successful approach to understand field theories is to resolve the physics into different length or energy scales using the renormalization group framework. We propose a quantum simulation of quantum field theory which encodes field…

Minisuperpace Quantum Cosmology is an approach by which it is possible to infer initial conditions for dynamical systems which can suitably represent observable and non-observable universes. Here we discuss theories of gravity which, from…

We develop a suitable technical algorithm to implement a separation of the Minisuperspace configurational variables into quasi-classical and purely quantum degrees of freedom, in the framework of a Polymer quantum Mechanics reformulation of…

Simple cosmological models are used to show that gravitation can be quantized as an ordinary gauge system if the Hamilton-Jacobi equation for the model under consideration is separable. In this situation, a canonical transformation can be…

Quantum mechanics has been formulated in phase space, with the Wigner function as the representative of the quantum density operator, and classical mechanics has been formulated in Hilbert space, with the Groenewold operator as the…

We define a (semi-classical) path integral for gravity with Neumann boundary conditions in $D$ dimensions, and show how to relate this new partition function to the usual picture of Euclidean quantum gravity. We also write down the action…