Related papers: Causality, unitarity and stability in quantum grav…
We derive rigorous bounds on corrections to Einstein gravity using unitarity and analyticity of graviton scattering amplitudes. In $D\geq 4$ spacetime dimensions, these consistency conditions mandate positive coefficients for certain…
The effective field theory of quantum gravity generically predicts non-locality to be present in the effective action, which results from the low-energy propagation of gravitons and massless matter. Working to second order in gravitational…
Within the Asymptotic Safety scenario, we discuss whether Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG) can give rise to a semi-classical regime of propagating physical gravitons (gravitational waves) governed by an effective theory which complies with…
We propose to include gravity in quantum field theory non-perturbatively, by modifying the propagators so that each virtual particle in a Feynman graph move in the space-time determined by the four-momenta of the other particles in the same…
Over the last years the Asymptotic Safety program has matured into a serious candidate for a quantum theory of gravity compatible with observations. The rapid technical progress in computing renormalisation group flows for gravity and…
We present remarkably simple covariant expressions for the graviton and ghost propagators in Anti-de Sitter and de-Sitter spacetimes valid in any spacetime dimension. In gravity there is a $2$-parameter family of covariant gauge-fixing…
In this paper we lay the foundations of causal quantum gravity (CQG), i.e. of a quantum theory of self-interacting symmetric massless rank-2 tensor gauge fields, the gravitons, on flat space-time, in the framework of causal perturbation…
To reduce general relativity to the canonical Hamiltonian formalism and construct the path (functional) integral in a simpler and, especially in the discrete case, less singular way, one extends the configuration superspace, as in the…
We link the notion causality with the orientation of the 2-complex on which spin foam models are based. We show that all current spin foam models are orientation-independent, pointing out the mathematical structure behind this independence.…
Contrary to what is often stated, a fundamental spacetime discreteness need not contradict Lorentz invariance. A causal set's discreteness is in fact locally Lorentz invariant, and we recall the reasons why. For illustration, we introduce a…
Perturbative quantum gravity starts from prescribing a background metric. That background metric is then used in order to carry out two separate steps: 1. One splits the non-perturbative metric into background and deviation from it…
We study a collection of discrete Markov chains related to the causal set approach to modeling discrete theories of quantum gravity. The transition probabilities of these chains satisfy a general covariance principle, a causality principle,…
I review several different calculations, coming from string theory, nonperturbative quantum gravity and analyses of black holes that lead to predictions of phenomena that would uniquely be signatures of quantum gravitational effects. These…
We study the asymptotic safety conjecture for quantum gravity in the presence of matter fields. A general line of reasoning is put forward explaining why gravitons dominate the high-energy behaviour, largely independently of the matter…
The ideas of spacetime discreteness and causality are important in several of the popular approaches to quantum gravity. But if discreteness is accepted as an initial assumption, conflict with Lorentz invariance can be a consequence. The…
We construct the scalar and graviton propagator in quasi de Sitter space up to first order in the slow roll parameter $\epsilon\equiv -\dot{H}/H^2$. After a rescaling, the propagators are similar to those in de Sitter space with an…
Unimodular gravity is characterized by an extra condition with respect to General Relativity: the determinant of the metric is constant. This extra condition leads to a more restricted class of invariance by coordinate transformation. Even…
It is generally argued that the combined effect of Heisenberg principle and general relativity leads to a minimum time uncertainty. Most of the analyses supporting this conclusion are based on a perturbative approach to quantization. We…
In this thesis we investigate the importance of causality in non-perturbative approaches to quantum gravity. Firstly, causal sets are introduced as a simple kinematical model for causal geometry. It is shown how causal sets could account…
We consider the covariant graviton propagator in de Sitter spacetime in a gauge with two parameters, alpha and beta, in the Euclidean approach. We give an explicit form of the propagator with a particular choice of beta but with arbitrary…