Related papers: Quantum mechanics and observers for gravity in a c…
One of the fundamental problems in quantum gravity is to describe the experience of a gravitating observer in generic spacetimes. In this paper, we develop a framework for describing non-perturbative physics relative to an observer using…
Quantum gravity in a closed universe faces two a priori distinct yet seemingly related issues: the problem of time and the fact that its Hilbert space dimension is one. Both have been argued to be resolvable by formulating physics relative…
The gravitational path integral suggests a striking result: the Hilbert space of closed universes in each superselection sector, a so-called $\alpha$-sector, is one-dimensional. We develop an abstract formalism encapsulating recent…
Recent developments in gravitational path integrals indicate that the nonperturbative physical Hilbert space of a closed universe is one-dimensional within each superselection sector. This raises a basic puzzle: how can a unique…
We study how meaningful physical predictions can arise in nonperturbative quantum gravity in a closed Lorentzian universe. In such settings, recent developments suggest that the quantum gravitational Hilbert space is one-dimensional and…
So far, none of attempts to quantize gravity has led to a satisfactory model that not only describe gravity in the realm of a quantum world, but also its relation to elementary particles and other fundamental forces. Here, we outline the…
We discuss some general properties of quantum gravity in De Sitter space. It has been argued that the Hilbert space is of finite dimension. This suggests a macroscopic argument that General Relativity cannot be quantized -- unless it is…
We argue in a model-independent way that the Hilbert space of quantum gravity is locally finite-dimensional. In other words, the density operator describing the state corresponding to a small region of space, when such a notion makes sense,…
A straightforward gravitational path integral calculation implies that closed universes are trivial, described by a one dimensional Hilbert space. Two recent papers by Harlow-Usatyuk-Zhao and Abdalla-Antonini-Iliesiu-Levine have sought to…
The holographic principle suggests that the Hilbert space of quantum gravity is locally finite-dimensional. Motivated by this point-of-view, and its application to the observable Universe, we introduce a set of numerical and conceptual…
A new functional calculus, developed recently for a fully non-perturbative treatment of quantum gravity, is used to begin a systematic construction of a quantum theory of geometry. Regulated operators corresponding to areas of 2-surfaces…
Quantum mechanics introduces the concept of probability at the fundamental level, yielding the measurement problem. On the other hand, recent progress in cosmology has led to the "multiverse" picture, in which our observed universe is only…
A covariant spin-foam formulation of quantum gravity has been recently developed, characterized by a kinematics which appears to match well the one of canonical loop quantum gravity. In particular, the geometrical observable giving the area…
The requirement that physical phenomena associated with gravitational collapse should be duly reconciled with the postulates of quantum mechanics implies that at a Planckian scale our world is not 3+1 dimensional. Rather, the observable…
We study the quantization of spherically symmetric vacuum spacetimes within loop quantum gravity. In particular, we give additional details about our previous work in which we showed that one could complete the quantization the model and…
This paper addresses the question why quantum mechanics is formulated in a unitary Hilbert space, i.e. in a manifestly complex setting. Investigating the linear dynamics of real quantum theory in a finite-dimensional Euclidean Hilbert space…
Recent advances in semiclassical gravity, both in our understanding of the gravitational path integral and the algebraic structure of a gravitating subregion, rely on the presence of an observer to obtain a nontrivial Hilbert space for…
We consider a framework in which low energy dynamics of quantum gravity is described preserving locality, and yet taking into account the effects that are not captured by the naive global spacetime picture, e.g. those associated with black…
This paper elaborates on an intrinsically quantum approach to gravity, which begins with a general framework for quantum mechanics and then seeks to identify additional mathematical structure on Hilbert space that is responsible for gravity…
We highlight the structure and properties of an abstract approach to quantum cosmology and gravity, dubbed $SU(\infty)$-QGR. Beginning from the concept of the Universe as an isolated quantum system, the main axiom of is the existence of an…