Related papers: Semiclassical Length Measure from a Quantum-Gravit…
A quantitative test for the validity of the semi-classical approximation in gravity is given. The criterion proposed is that solutions to the semi-classical Einstein equations should be stable to linearized perturbations, in the sense that…
When gauge field theory coherent states for loop quantum gravity (LQG) were introduced, an optimized semiclassical proper length emerged, corresponding to the edge length $\epsilon$ of a graph embedded in a given classical geometry. Here…
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…
We construct physical semi-classical states annihilated by the Hamiltonian constraint operator in the framework of loop quantum cosmology as a method of systematically determining the regime and validity of the semi-classical limit of the…
An attempt is made to go beyond the standard semi-classical approximation for gravity in the Born-Oppenheimer decomposition of the wave-function in minisuperspace. New terms are included which correspond to quantum gravitational…
Semi-classical gravity attempts to define a hybrid theory in which a classical gravitational field is coupled to a unitarily evolving quantum state. Although semi-classical gravity is inconsistent with observation, a viable theory of this…
Quantum gravity is studied in a semiclassical approximation and it is found that to first order in the Planck length the effect of quantum gravity is to make the low energy effective spacetime metric energy dependent. The diffeomorphism…
We show that an unification of quantum mechanics and general relativity implies that there is a fundamental length in Nature in the sense that no operational procedure would be able to measure distances shorter than the Planck length.…
We construct an operator that measures the length of a curve in four-dimensional Lorentzian vacuum quantum gravity. We work in a representation in which a $SU(2)$ connection is diagonal and it is therefore surprising that the operator…
This article will summarize selected aspects of the semiclassical theory of gravity, which involves a classical gravitational field coupled to quantum matter fields. Among the issues which will be discussed are the role of quantum effects…
The volume operator plays a pivotal role for the quantum dynamics of Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG), both in the full theory and in truncated models adapted to cosmological situations coined Loop Quantum Cosmology (LQC). It is therefore crucial…
We consider a k=0 Friedman-Robertson-Walker (FRW) model within loop quantum cosmology (LQC) and explore the issue of its semiclassical limit. The model is exactly solvable and allows us to construct analytical (Gaussian) coherent-state…
I review the arguments most often raised against a fundamental coupling of classical spacetime to quantum matter. I show that an experiment by Page and Geilker does not exclude such a semiclassical theory but mandates an inclusion of an…
We revisit a recent proposal for a definition of time in quantum cosmology, to investigate the effects of having more than one possible type of clock "at the same time". We use as test tube an extension of Einstein gravity with a massless…
A critical length has recently been identified that appears to provide a fundamental limit distinguishing quantum behavior from classical behavior. Because of the unique association between critical length and mass, it appears that we can…
Quantum gravity places entirely new challenges on the formulation of a consistent theory as well as on an extraction of potentially observable effects. Quantum corrections due to the gravitational field are commonly expected to be tiny…
The principle of equivalence provides a description of gravity in terms of the metric tensor and determines how gravity affects the light cone structure of the space-time. This, in turn, leads to the existence of observers (in any…
Using the kinematic constraints of classical bodies we construct the allowable wavefunctions corresponding to classical solids. These are shown to be long lived metastable states that are qualitatively far from eigenstates of the true…
One of the most important issues in quantum gravity is to identify its semi-classical regime. First the issue is to define for we mean by a semi-classical theory of quantum gravity, then we would like to use it to extract physical…
We discuss some subtleties which arise in the semiclassical approximation to quantum gravity. We show that integrability conditions prevent the existence of Tomonaga-Schwinger time functions on the space of three-metrics but admit them on…