Related papers: Phenomenological description of space-time foam
We review the possibility that quantum fluctuations in the structure of space-time at the Planck scale might be subject to experimental probes. We study the effects of space-time foam in an approach inspired by string theory, in which…
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…
Quantum fluctuations impose fundamental limits on measurement and space-time probing. Although using optimised probe fields can allow to push sensitivity in a position measurement beyond the "standard quantum limit", quantum fluctuations of…
Quantum gravitational effects may induce stochastic fluctuations in the structure of space-time, to produce a characteristic foamy structure. It has been known for some time now that these fluctuations may have observable consequencies for…
If spacetime undergoes quantum fluctuations, an electromagnetic wavefront will acquire uncertainties in direction as well as phase as it propagates through spacetime. These uncertainties can show up in interferometric observations of…
One aspect of the quantum nature of spacetime is its "foaminess" at very small scales. Many models for spacetime foam are defined by the accumulation power $\alpha$, which parameterizes the rate at which Planck-scale spatial uncertainties…
Quantum foam, also known as spacetime foam, has its origin in quantum fluctuations of spacetime. Its physics is intimately linked to that of black holes and computation. Arguably it is the source of the holographic principle which severely…
The operational meaning of spacetime fluctuations is discussed. Classical spacetime geometry can be viewed as encoding the relations between the motions of test particles in the geometry. By analogy, quantum fluctuations of spacetime…
I discuss a specific model of space-time foam, inspired by the modern non-perturbative approach to string theory (D-branes). The model views our world as a three brane, intersecting with D-particles that represent stringy quantum gravity…
A particular form for the quantum indeterminacy of relative spacetime position of events is derived from the limits of measurement possible with Planck wavelength radiation. The indeterminacy predicts fluctuations from a classically defined…
Quantum gravitational effects, on the one hand, lead to a limitation in the accuracy of measuring spatial and time intervals, and, on the other hand, they generate a discrete of spacetime structure (quantum foam). The common source of both…
We consider a hypothesis in which classical space-time emerges from information exchange (interactions) between quantum fluctuations in the gravity theory. In this picture, a line element would arise as a statistical average of how…
Astronomical observations of distant quasars may be important to test models for quantum gravity, which posit Planck-scale spatial uncertainties ('spacetime foam') that would produce phase fluctuations in the wavefront of radiation emitted…
Using a \emph{gedanken} experiment providing presumably a minimal inaccuracy the uncertainty contributions to the space-time measurement are precisely evaluated for clock and mirror respectively. The resulting expression of minimal…
I briefly recall intersections of my research interests with those of John Bell. I then argue that the noise needed in theories of objective state vector reduction most likely comes from a fluctuating complex part in the classical spacetime…
Arguments are gived for the plausibility that quantum mechanics is a stochastic theory and that many quantum phenomena derive from the existence of a real noise consisting of vacuum fluctuations of all fundamental fields existing in nature.…
It is generally expected that quantum gravity affects the structure of space-time by introducing stochastic fluctuations in the geometry, and, ultimately, in the measurements of four-distances and four-momenta.These fluctuations may induce…
Extra-galactic sources of photons have been used to constrain space-time quantum fluctuations in the Universe. In these proposals, the fundamental "fuzziness" of distance caused by space-time quantum fluctuations has been directly…
It is found that the existence of spacetime foam leads to a situation in which the number of fundamental quantum bosonic fields is a variable quantity. The general aspects of an exact theory that allows for a variable number of fields are…
Context: Strings and other alternative theories describing the quantum properties of space-time suggest that space-time could present a foamy structure and also that, in certain cases, quantum gravity (QG) may manifest at energies much…