Related papers: Minkowski vacuum in background independent quantum…
From the modern viewpoint and by the geometric method, this paper provides a concise foundation for the quantum theory of massless spin-3/2 field in Minkowski spacetime, which includes both the one-particle's quantum mechanics and the…
We propose uncertainty relations for the different coordinates of spacetime events, motivated by Heisenberg's principle and by Einstein's theory of classical gravity. A model of Quantum Spacetime is then discussed where the commutation…
As a novel approach with possible relevance to semiclassical gravity, we propose to define regions of space as quantum subsystems. After recalling how to divide a generic quantum system into ``parts'', we apply this idea to a free scalar…
Postulates which lead to Minkowski spacetime are amended in a subtle way, and used to construct a consistent flat spacetime geometry with intrinsic quantum character. Events in the new quantum geometry are described by labels of the form…
Successful applications of a conceptually novel setup of Quantum Field Theory, that accounts for all subtheories of the Standard Model (QED, Electroweak Interaction and Higgs, Yang-Mills and QCD) and beyond (Helicity 2), call for a…
We study the end stages of gravitational collapse of the thin shell of matter in ingoing Eddington-Finkelstein coordinates. We use the functional Schrodinger formalism to capture quantum effects in the near singularity limit. We find that…
We propose an algebra of operators along an observer's worldline as a background-independent algebra in quantum gravity. In that context, it is natural to think of the Hartle-Hawking no boundary state as a universal state of maximum…
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…
General relativity is a background-independent theory of a dynamical classical spacetime geometry. Quantum theory is formulated in a classical spacetime, as an intrinsically probabilistic, contextual theory of non-classical, interfering…
After a review of the existing theory of non-inertial frames and mathematical observers in Minkowski space-time we give the explicit expression of a family of such frames obtained from the inertial ones by means of point-dependent Lorentz…
In a standard quantum field theory the norm $\langle \Omega\vert \Omega\rangle$ of the vacuum state is taken to be finite. In this paper we provide a procedure, based on constructing an equivalent wave mechanics, for determining whether or…
In a quantum gravity theory the entropy of entanglement $S$ between the fundamental degrees of freedom spatially divided by a surface is discussed. The classical gravity is considered as an emergent phenomenon and arguments are presented…
We propose that gravity be intrinsically quantum-mechanical, so that in the absence of quantum mechanics the geometry of the universe would be Minkowski. We show that in such a situation gravity does not require any independent quantization…
The usual formulations of quantum field theory in Minkowski spacetime make crucial use of features--such as Poincare invariance and the existence of a preferred vacuum state--that are very special to Minkowski spacetime. In order to…
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…
A class of free quantum fields defined on the Poincare' group, is described by means of their two-point vacuum expectation values. They are not equivalent to fields defined on the Minkowski spacetime and they are "elementary" in the sense…
Loop quantum cosmology (LQC) is used to provide concrete evidence in support of the general paradigm underlying spin foam models (SFMs). Specifically, it is shown that: i) the physical inner product in the timeless framework equals the…
In this article we review the present status of the spin foam formulation of non-perturbative (background independent) quantum gravity. The article is divided in two parts. In the first part we present a general introduction to the main…
The quantum theory of a free particle on a portion of two-dimensional Euclidean space bounded by a circle and subject to non-local boundary conditions gives rise to bulk and surface states. Starting from this well known property, a…
A lot of attention has been drawn over the last few years by the investigation of the geometry of spherical random eigenfunctions (random spherical harmonics) in the high frequency regime, i.e ., for diverging eigenvalues. In this paper, we…