Related papers: Zero-point gravitational field equations
Using minimalist assumptions we develop a natural functional decomposition for the spacetime metric, and explicit tractable formulae for the surface gravities, in arbitrary stationary circular (PT symmetric) axisymmetric spacetimes. We…
We show that a hypothesis that spacetime is quantum with coordinate algebra $[x^i,t]=\lambda_P x^i$, and spherical symmetry under rotations of the $x^i$, essentially requires in the classical limit that the spacetime metric is the…
The null-surface formulation of general relativity -- recently introduced -- provides novel tools for describing the gravitational field, as well as a fresh physical way of viewing it. The new formulation provides ``local'' observables…
False vacuum decay in field theory may be formulated as a boundary value problem in Euclidean space. In a previous work, we studied its solution in single scalar field theories with quadratic gravity and used it to find obstructions to…
We investigate the geometrodynamical effects of introducing the boundary term in symmetric teleparallel gravity. Specifically, we consider a homogeneous and isotropic universe in $f\left( Q, B \right) $, where $Q$ is the non-metricity…
The objective of the present paper is to study 4-dimensional weakly Ricci symmetric spacetimes $(WRS)_4$ with non-zero constant Ricci scalar. We prove that such a $(WRS)_4$ satisfying $F(R)$-gravity field equations represents a perfect…
We analyse the role, on large cosmological scales and laboratory experiments, of the leading curvature squared contributions to the low energy effective action of gravity. We argue for a natural relationship $c_0\lambda^2\simeq 1$ at…
We construct a family of measures for random fields based on the iterated subdivision of simple geometric shapes (triangles, squares, tetrahedrons) into a finite number of similar shapes. The intent is to construct continuum limits of scale…
Recently there has been a proposal for modified gravitational f(R) actions which include a direct coupling between the matter action and the Ricci scalar, R. Of particular interest is the specific case where both the action and the coupling…
We show that the two-point function \sigma(x,x')=\sqrt{<[\phi(x)-\phi(x')]^{2}>} of a scalar quantum field theory is a metric (i.e., a symmetric positive function satisfying the triangle inequality) on space-time (with imaginary time). It…
We consider a congruence of null geodesics in the presence of a quantized spacetime metric. The coupling to a quantum metric induces fluctuations in the congruence; we calculate the change in the area of a pencil of geodesics induced by…
Microscopic quantum laws are time-symmetric: nothing in the Schr\"odinger equation or its relativistic extensions distinguishes future from past. Yet measurements produce irreversible records, an apparently one-way causal flow, and the…
We consider a new set of effects arising from the quantum gravity corrections to the propagation of fields, associated with fluctuations of the spacetime geometry. Using already existing experimental data, we can put bounds on these effects…
Flatness -- the absence of spacetime curvature -- is a well-understood property of macroscopic, classical spacetimes in general relativity. The same cannot be said about the concepts of curvature and flatness in nonperturbative quantum…
In the Hamiltonian formulation of General Relativity the energy associated to an asymptotically flat space-time with metric $g_{\mu\nu}$ is related to the Hamiltonian $H_{GR}$ by $E=H_{GR}[g_{\mu\nu}]-H_{\rm GR}[\eta_{\mu\nu}]$, where the…
Curvature is a key notion in General Relativity, characterizing the local physical properties of spacetime. By contrast, the concept of curvature has received scant attention in nonperturbative quantum gravity. One may even wonder whether…
We explain how quantum gravity can be defined by quantizing spacetime itself. A pinpoint is that the gravitational constant G = L_P^2 whose physical dimension is of (length)^2 in natural unit introduces a symplectic structure of spacetime…
Our conventional system of physical units is based on local or microscopic {\it dimensional} quantities which are {\it defined}, for convenience or otherwise aesthetic reasons, to be spacetime-independent. A more general choice of units may…
In order to resolve the cosmological constant problem, the notion of reference frame is re-examined at the quantum level. By using a quantum non-linear sigma model (Q-NLSM), a theory of quantum spacetime reference frame (QSRF) is proposed.…
We study a theory of gravity of the form $f(\mathcal{G})$ where $\mathcal{G}$ is the Gauss-Bonnet topological invariant without considering the standard Einstein-Hilbert term as common in the literature, in arbitrary $(d+1)$ dimensions. The…