Related papers: The small-scale structure of quantum spacetime
In the following we undertake to derive quantum theory as a stochastic low-energy and coarse-grained theory from a more primordial discrete and basically geometric theory living on the Planck scale and which (as we argue) possibly underlies…
It is shown that quantum vacuum fluctuations give rise to a curvature of space-time of the order appropriate to explain the observed accelerated expansion of the universe. The fact that the fluctuations produce curvature, even if the…
The Brownian motion of a point particle induced by quantum vacuum fluctuations of a massless real scalar field in Einstein's universe is studied. By assuming the small displacement condition, the dispersion in the momentum and position of a…
We propose uncertainty relations for the different coordinates of spacetime events, motivated by Heisenberg's principle and by Einstein's theory of classical gravity. A model of Quantum Spacetime is then discussed where the commutation…
We start from classical general relativity coupled to matter fields. Each configuration variable and its conjugate momentum, as also space-time points, are raised to the status of matrices [equivalently operators]. These matrices obey a…
We derive the fluctuation theorem for quantum-state statistics that can be obtained when we initially measure the total energy of a quantum system at thermal equilibrium, let the system evolve unitarily, and record the quantum-state data…
Theories of emergent gravity have established a deep connection between entropy and the geometry of spacetime by looking at the latter through a thermodynamic lens. In this framework, the macroscopic properties of gravity arise in a…
Arguments are gived for the plausibility that quantum mechanics is a stochastic theory and that many quantum phenomena derive from the existence of a real noise consisting of vacuum fluctuations of all fundamental fields existing in nature.…
By following the general guiding principle that nothing should be prescribed or imposed on the universal entity, spacetime, we establish that it is the homogeneity (by which we mean homogeneity and isotropy of space and homogeneity of time)…
Several approaches to the quantum-gravity problem predict that spacetime should be "fuzzy", but have been so far unable to provide a crisp physical characterization of this notion. An intuitive picture of spacetime fuzziness has been…
The positive energy theorem precludes the possibility of Minkowski flat space decaying by any mechanism. In certain circumstances, however, large quantum fluctuations of the gravitational field could arise---not only at the Planck scale,…
We construct a complete set of Wannier functions which are localized at both given positions and momenta. This allows us to introduce the quantum phase space, onto which a quantum pure state can be mapped unitarily. Using its probability…
We argue that space and space-time emerge as a consequence of dynamical collapse of the wave function of macroscopic objects. Locality and separability are properties of our approximate, emergent universe. At the fundamental level,…
In a previous work [1], it was speculated that the lack of homogeneity of the large-scale structure of the universe may be due to quantum fluctuations of space in the early universe. In [1], this was argued for a Friedmann-type universe for…
Combinatorial quantum gravity is governed by a discrete Einstein-Hilbert action formulated on an ensemble of random graphs. There is strong evidence for a second-order quantum phase transition separating a random phase at strong coupling…
The very early universe provides the best arena we currently have to test quantum gravity theories. The success of the inflationary paradigm in accounting for the observed inhomogeneities in the cosmic microwave background already…
Einstein's theory of general relativity is based on the premise that the physical laws take the same form in all coordinate systems. However, it still presumes a preferred decomposition of the total kinematic Hilbert space into local…
In the standard inflationary paradigm the inhomogeneities observed in the CMB arise from quantum fluctuations of an initially homogeneous and isotropic vacuum state. This picture suffers from two well-known weaknesses. First, it assumes…
With the decline of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics and the recent experiments indicating that quantum mechanics does actually embody 'objective reality', one might ask if a 'mechanical', conceptual model for quantum…
Over the last decade a growing number of quantum-gravity researchers has been looking for opportunities for the first ever experimental evidence of a Planck-length quantum property of spacetime. These studies are usually based on the…