Related papers: Entropy production due to spacetime fluctuations
Fluctuation theorems make use of time reversal to make predictions about entropy production in many-body systems far from thermal equilibrium. Here we review the wide variety of distinct, but interconnected, relations that have been derived…
This study discusses the quantum behavior of a particle, which is controlled by fluctuations in the physical space-time (ST) variables, rather than provides a novel interpretation of quantum theory. The fluctuations, i.e., inhomogeneities…
Entropy generation in quantum sytems is tied to the existence of a nonclassical environment (heat bath or other) with which the system interacts. The continuous `measuring' of the open system by its environment induces decoherence of its…
We present an extension of quantum field theory to the case when the spacetime topology fluctuates (spacetime foam). In this extension the number of bosonic fields becomes a variable and the ground state is characterized by a finite…
It is argued that any operational measure of time is inseparably bound to the presence of a periodic process in some medium. Since, as first formulated by Einstein's (1905) equation for the energy, all "particles" (neutrons, electrons,…
It has been argued that gravity acts dissipatively on quantum-mechanical systems, inducing thermal fluctuations that become indistinguishable from quantum fluctuations. This has led some authors to demand that some form of time…
During the inflationary phase of the early universe, quantum fluctuations in the vacuum generate particles as they stretch beyond the Hubble length. These fluctuations are thought to result in the density fluctuations and gravitational…
Treating the gravitational force on the same footing as the electroweak and strong forces, we present a quantum field theory of gravity based on spin and scaling gauge symmetries. A biframe spacetime is initiated to describe such a quantum…
Entropy production (EP) is known as a fundamental quantity for measuring the irreversibility of processes in thermal equilibrium and states far from equilibrium. In stochastic thermodynamics, the EP becomes more visible in terms of the…
It is shown that quantum vacuum fluctuations give rise to a curvature of space-time of the order appropriate to explain the observed accelerated expansion of the universe. The fact that the fluctuations produce curvature, even if the…
Quantum gravity has become a fertile interface between gravitational physics and quantum many-body physics, with its double goal of identifying the microscopic constituents of the universe and their fundamental dynamics, and of…
We construct an entropy current using a supersymmetric formulation of the low-energy effective action for the Schwinger-Keldysh generating functional. We define an entropy current quantum mechanically by coupling it to an external source.…
We review recent literature on the connection between quantum entanglement and cosmology, with an emphasis on the context of expanding universes. We discuss recent theoretical results reporting on the production of entanglement in quantum…
What if gravity is classical? If true, a consistent co-existence of classical gravity and quantum matter requires that gravity exhibit irreducible fluctuations. These fluctuations can mediate classical correlations, but not quantum…
Renewed interest in deriving gravity (more precisely, the Einstein equations) from thermodynamics considerations [1, 2] is stirred up by a recent proposal that 'gravity is an entropic force' [3] (see also [4]). Even though I find the…
Environment interaction may induce stochastic semiclassical dynamics in open quantum systems. In the gravitational context, stress-energy fluctuations of quantum matter fields give rise to a stochastic behaviour in the spacetime geometry.…
At the primary level of reality as described by quantum field theory, a fundamental particle like an electron represents a stable, discrete, propagating excited state of its underlying quantum field. QFT also tells us that the lowest vacuum…
This essay presents an accessible introduction to the basic motivations to seek a quantum theory of gravity. It focuses on one approach- loop quantum gravity - as an example of the rich philosophical issues that arise when we try to combine…
The cosmological constant problem is turned around to argue for a new foundational physics postulate underlying a consistent quantum theory of gravity and matter, such as string theory. This postulate is a quantum equivalence principle…
I describe an approach which relates classical gravity to the quantum microstructure of spacetime. In this approach, the field equations arise from maximizing the density of states of the matter plus geometry. The former is identified using…