Related papers: Regularization of Vacuum Fluctuations and Frame De…
In Loop Quantum Cosmology, the quantization of the Hamiltonian constraint involves a regularization procedure which is affected by certain ambiguities. Moreover, different regularizations lead to distinct mathematical formulations and,…
By using a nonholonomous-frame formulation of the general covariance principle, seen as an active version of the strong equivalence principle, an analysis of the gravitational coupling prescription in the presence of curvature and torsion…
We apply a novel background independent regularization scheme, the $N$-cutoffs, to self-consistently quantize scalar and metric fluctuations on the maximally symmetric but non-compact hyperbolic space. For quantum matter fields on a…
We present unified ways of handling the cosmological perturbations in a class of gravity theory covered by a general action in eq. (1). This gravity includes our previous generalized $f(\phi,R)$ gravity and the gravity theory motivated by…
In the average action approach to the quantization of gravity the fundamental requirement of "background independence" is met by actually introducing a background metric but leaving it completely arbitrary. The associated Wilsonian…
We re-examine the classic problem of the renormalization of zero-point quantum fluctuations in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background. We discuss a number of issues that arise when regularizing the theory with a momentum-space cutoff, and…
Lorentz-violating operators involving Standard Model fields are tightly constrained by experimental data. However, bounds are more model-independent for Lorentz violation appearing in purely gravitational couplings. The spontaneous breaking…
We consider implications of the microscopic dynamics of spacetime for the evolution of cosmological models. We argue that quantum geometry effects may lead to stochastic fluctuations of the gravitational constant, which is thus considered…
A central aspect of the cosmological constant problem is to understand why vacuum energy does not gravitate. In order to account for this observation, while allowing for nontrivial dynamics of the quantum vacuum, we motivate a novel…
We study primordial perturbations generated from quantum fluctuations of an inflaton based on the formalism of stochastic gravity. Integrating out the degree of freedom of the inflaton field, we analyze the time evolution of the correlation…
Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity is a potentially UV complete theory with important implications for the very early universe. In particular, in the presence of spatial curvature it is possible to obtain a non-singular bouncing cosmology. The…
Quantum liquids, in which an effective Lorentzian metric and thus some kind of gravity gradually arise in the low-energy corner, are the objects where the problems related to the quantum vacuum can be investigated in detail. In particular,…
A localized charged particle oscillating near a reflecting boundary is considered as a model for non-cancellation of vacuum fluctuations. Although the mean velocity of the particle is sinusoidal, the velocity variance produced by vacuum…
The formalism to treat quantization and evolution of cosmological perturbations of multiple fluids is described. We first construct the Lagrangian for both the gravitational and matter parts, providing the necessary relevant variables and…
We study the decoherence process associated with the scattering of stochastic gravitational waves. We discuss the case of macroscopic systems, such as the planetary motion of the Moon around the Earth, for which gravitational scattering is…
Vacuum birefringence is a signature of Lorentz-symmetry violation. Here we report on a recent search for birefringence in the cosmic microwave background. Polarization data is used to place constraints on certain forms of Lorentz violation.
We study the possibility of decoupling gravity from the vacuum energy. This is effectively equivalent to promoting Newton's constant to a high-pass filter that degravitates sources of characteristic wavelength larger than a certain…
The gravitational force harbours a fundamental instability against collapse. In standard General Relativity without Quantum Mechanics, this implies the existence of black holes as natural, stable solutions of Einstein's equations. If one…
When solving the Einstein's equations for an isolated system of masses, V. Fock introduces harmonic reference frame and obtains an unambiguous solution. Further, he concludes that there exists a harmonic reference frame which is determined…
The degrees of quantum coherence of cosmological perturbations of different spins are computed in the large-scale limit and compared with the standard results holding for a single mode of the electromagnetic field in an optical cavity. The…