Related papers: Synge's World function and the quantum spacetime
The space of states and operators for a large class of background independent theories of quantum spacetime dynamics is defined. The SU(2) spin networks of quantum general relativity are replaced by labelled compact two-dimensional…
The standard formulation of quantum theory relies on a fixed space-time metric determining the localisation and causal order of events. In general relativity, the metric is influenced by matter, and is expected to become indefinite when…
A new method based on Synge's world function is developed for determining within the WKB approximation the gravitationally induced quantum phase shift of a particle propagating in a stationary spacetime. This method avoids any calculation…
This is the first part in a series of two papers, where we consider a specific microscopic model of spacetime. In our model Planck size quantum black holes are taken to be the fundamental building blocks of space and time. Spacetime is…
Starting from a discussion of the concrete representations of the coordinates of the k-Minkowski spacetime (in 1+1 dimensions, for simplicity), we explicitly compute the associated Weyl operators as functions of a pair of Schroedinger…
We provide a gauge-invariant theory of gravitation in the context of Weyl Integrable Space-Times. After making a brief review of the theory's postulates, we carefully define the observers' proper-time and point out its relation with…
Emergent gravity views spacetime as an entity emergent from a more complete theory of interacting fundamental constituents valid at much finer resolution or higher energies, usually assumed to be above the Planck energy. In this view…
There are many examples where geometry and gravity are concepts that emerge from a theory of quantum mechanics without gravity. This suggests thinking of gravity as an exotic phase of matter. Quantifying this phase in the Landau paradigm…
We consider Hilbert's sixth problem on the axiomatization of physics starting with a higher degree Heisenberg commutation relation involving the Dirac operator and the Feynman slash of scalar fields. The two sided version of the commutation…
We construct a duality between several simple physical systems by showing that they are different aspects of the same quantum theory. Examples include the free relativistic massless particle and the hydrogen atom in any number of…
Quantum gravitational effects suggest a minimal length, or spacetime interval, of order the Planck length. This in turn suggests that Hilbert space itself may be discrete rather than continuous. One implication is that quantum states with…
We put forward a two-dimensional nonlinear sigma model that couples (bosonic) matter fields to topological Horava gravity on a nonrelativistic worldsheet. In the target space, this sigma model describes classical strings propagating in a…
We consider a gravitational model in a Weyl-Cartan space-time, in which the Weitzenb\"{o}ck condition of the vanishing of the sum of the curvature and torsion scalar is also imposed. Moreover, a kinetic term for the torsion is also included…
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…
In almost all of the studies devoted to the time delay and the frequency shift of light, the calculations are based on the integration of the null geodesic equations. However, the above-mentioned effects can be calculated without…
It is argued that the `problem of time' in quantum gravity necessitates a refinement of the local inertial structure of the world, demanding a replacement of the usual Minkowski line element by a 4+2n dimensional pseudo-Euclidean line…
General relativity describes the gravitational field geometrically and in a self-interacting way because it couples to all forms of energy, including its own. Both features make finding a quantum theory difficult, yet it is important in the…
The quantized canonical space-time coordinates of a relativistic point particle are expressed in terms of the elements of a complex Clifford algebra which combines the complex properties of SL(2.C) and quantum mechanics. When the quantum…
In the presence of a cosmological constant, interpreted as a purely geometric entity, absence of matter is represented by a de Sitter spacetime. As a consequence, ordinary Poincare' special relativity is no longer valid and must be replaced…
Together with collaborators, we introduced a noncommutative Riemannian geometry over Moyal algebras and systematically developed it for noncommutative spaces embedded in higher dimensions in the last few years. The theory was applied to…