Related papers: Regularization of Vacuum Fluctuations and Frame De…
This article aims at discussing the cosmological constant problem at a pedagogical but fully technical level. We review how the vacuum energy can be regularized in flat and curved space-time and how it can be understood in terms of Feynman…
Exerting fluctuations is a part of our daily life: traffic noise, heartbeat, opinion poll, currency exchange rate, electrical current, chemical reactions - they all permanently fluctuate. One of the most important questions is why the…
Quantum decoherence can arise due to classical fluctuations in the parameters which define the dynamics of the system. In this case decoherence, and complementary noise, is manifest when data from repeated measurement trials are combined.…
We apply the ``consistent discretization'' approach to general relativity leaving the spatial slices continuous. The resulting theory is free of the diffeomorphism and Hamiltonian constraints, but one can impose the diffeomorphism…
We provide evidence that general relativity is the unique spatially covariant effective field theory of the transverse, traceless graviton degrees of freedom. The Lorentz covariance of general relativity, having not been assumed in our…
We derive a closed formula for the matrix elements of the volume operator for canonical Lorentzian quantum gravity in four spacetime dimensions in the continuum in a spin-network basis. We also display a new technique of regularization…
The system of four point vortices in the plane has relative equilibria that behave as composite particles, in the case where three of the vortices have strength $-\Gamma/3$ and one of the vortices has strength $\Gamma$. These relative…
Quantum gravitational effects may induce stochastic fluctuations in the structure of space-time, to produce a characteristic foamy structure. It has been known for some time now that these fluctuations may have observable consequencies for…
Quantum vacuum fluctuations tend to be strongly anti-correlated, which reduces their observable effects. However, time dependence can upset the cancellation of these anti-correlated fluctuations and greatly enhance their effects. This form…
A Lorentz covariant quantization of membrane dynamics is defined, which also leaves unbroken the full three dimensional diffeomorphism invariance of the membrane. Among the applications studied are the reduction to string theory, which may…
Fundamental constants are a cornerstone of our physical laws. Any constant varying in space and/or time would reflect the existence of an almost massless field that couples to matter. This will induce a violation of the universality of free…
We reconsider formulating $D$ dimensional gauge theories, with the focus on the case of gravity theories, in spacetimes with boundaries. We extend covariant phase space formalism to the cases in which boundaries are allowed to fluctuate. We…
The role of the identification of the vacuum and non-vacuum space-times in the computation of vacuum fluctuations in the presence of a cosmic string is discussed and an alternative interpretation of the renormalization is proposed. This…
The theory of the effect of external fluctuation force on the stability and spatial distribution of mutually interacting and slowly evaporating charged drops, levitated in an electrodynamic balance, is presented using classical…
A possibility to describe quantum gravitational fluctuations of the spacetime background is provided by virtual $D$-branes. These effects may induce a tiny violation of the Lorentz invariance (as well as a possible violation of the…
We discuss the possibility of verifying the equivalence principle for the zero-point energy of quantum electrodynamics, by evaluating the force, produced by vacuum fluctuations, acting on a rigid Casimir cavity in a weak gravitational…
If textbook Lorentz invariance is actually a property of the equations describing a sector of the excitations of vacuum above some critical distance scale, several sectors of matter with different critical speeds in vacuum can coexist and…
Averaging in general relativity is a complicated operation, due to the general covariance of the theory and the non-linearity of Einstein's equations. The latter of these ensures that smoothing spacetime over cosmological scales does not…
Following fresh attempts to resolve the problem of the energy density of the vacuum, we reconsider the case where the cosmological constant is derived from a higher-dimensional version of general relativity, and interpret the…
Generic relevant deformations of Einstein's gravity theory contain additional degrees of freedom that have a multi-facetted stabilization dynamics on curved spacetimes. We show that these relevant degrees of freedom are self-protected…