Related papers: Can quantum gravity be exposed in the laboratory?:…
Quantum gravity theory is untested experimentally. Could it be tested with tabletop experiments? While the common feeling is pessimistic, a detailed inquiry shows it possible to sidestep the onerous requirement of localization of a probe on…
A satisfactory theory of quantum gravity may necessitate a drastic modification of our perception of space-time, by giving it a foamy structure at distances comparable to the Planck length. It is argued in this essay that the experimental…
Due to quantum fluctuations, probed at small scales, spacetime is very complicated -- something akin in complexity to a turbulent froth which the late John Wheeler dubbed quantum foam, aka spacetime foam. Our recent work suggests that (1)…
Spacetime undergoes quantum fluctuations, giving rise to spacetime foam, a.k.a. quantum foam. We discuss some properties of spacetime foam, and point out the conceptual interconnections in the physics of quantum foam, black holes, and…
The expectation that it should not be possible to gain experimental insight on the structure of space-time at Planckian distance scales has been recently challenged by several studies. With respect to space-time fluctuations, one of the…
Spacetime is composed of a fluctuating arrangement of bubbles or loops called spacetime foam, or quantum foam. We use the holographic principle to deduce its structure, and show that the result is consistent with gedanken experiments…
Wheeler's conjectured "spacetime foam" -- large quantum fluctuations of spacetime at the Planck scale -- could have important implications for quantum gravity, perhaps even explaining why the cosmological constant seems so small. Here I…
We discuss a recent provocative suggestion by Amelino-Camelia and others that classical spacetime may break down into ``quantum foam'' on distance scales many orders of magnitude larger than the Planck length, leading to effects which could…
More than 65 years ago, John Wheeler suggested that quantum uncertainties of the metric would be of order one at the Planck scale, leading to large fluctuations in spacetime geometry and topology, which he termed "spacetime foam." In this…
Many quantum gravity theories imply that the vacuum is filled with virtual black holes. This paper explores the process in which high energy photons interact with virtual black holes and decay into gravitons and photons of lower energy. The…
Recent advances in cooling, control, and measurement of mechanical systems in the quantum regime have opened the possibility of the first direct observation of quantum gravity, at scales achievable in experiments. This paper gives a broad…
One of the main challenges in physics today is to merge quantum theory and the theory of general relativity into a unified framework. Various approaches towards developing such a theory of quantum gravity are pursued, but the lack of…
A satisfactory theory of quantum gravity will very likely require modification of our classical perception of space-time, perhaps by giving it a 'foamy' structure at scales of order the Planck length. This is expected to modify the…
In order to gain insight into the possible Ground State of Quantized Einstein's Gravity, we have devised a variational calculation of the energy of the quantum gravitational field in an open space, as measured by an asymptotic observer…
Quantum foam, also known as spacetime foam, has its origin in quantum fluctuations of spacetime. Its physics is intimately linked to that of black holes and computation. Arguably it is the source of the holographic principle which severely…
In order to gain insight into the possible Ground State of Quantized Einstein's Gravity, we have derived a variational calculation of the energy of the quantum gravitational field in an open space, as measured by an asymptotic observer…
The search for a theory of quantum gravity is the most fundamental problem in all of theoretical physics, but there are as yet no experimental results at all to guide this endeavor. What seems to be needed is a pragmatic way to test if…
At Planck-scale, spacetime is "foamy" due to quantum fluctuations predicted by quantum gravity. Here we consider the possibility of using spacetime foam-induced phase incoherence of light from distant galaxies and gamma-ray bursters to…
I propose a phenomenological description of space-time foam and discuss the experimental limits that are within reach of forthcoming experiments.
A proposed experiment to test whether space is discretized [J. D. Bekenstein, Phys. Rev. D 86, 124040 (2012); Found. Phys. 44, 452 (2014)] is based on the supposed impossibility of an incident photon causing a displacement of a transparent…