Related papers: Topology, Decoherence, and Semiclassical Gravity
The role of topology in elementary quantum physics is discussed in detail. It is argued that attributes of classical spatial topology emerge from properties of state vectors with suitably smooth time evolution. Equivalently, they emerge…
I give a review of the conceptual issues that arise in theories of quantum cosmology. I start by emphasising some features of ordinary quantum theory that also play a crucial role in understanding quantum cosmology. I then give motivations…
We explore the issue of spacetime emergence in quantum gravity, by articulating several levels at which this can be intended. These levels correspond to the reconstruction moves that are needed to recover the classical and continuum notion…
A practical way to deal with the problem of time in quantum cosmology and quantum gravity is proposed. The main tool is effective equations, which mainly restrict explicit considerations to semiclassical regimes but have the crucial…
We use the polygon representation of 2+1--dimensional gravity to explicitly carry out the canonical quantization of a universe with the topology of a torus. The mapping-class-invariant wave function for a quantum ''big bounce'', is…
The "problem of time" in canonical quantum gravity refers to the difficulties involved in defining a Hilbert space structure on states -- and local observables on this Hilbert space -- for a theory in which the spacetime metric is treated…
The degree of freedom of the scalar field in scalar-tensor gravity is employed as "time" to deparametrize the Hamiltonian constraint of the theory. The deparametrized system is then nonperturbatively quantized by the approach of loop…
Coherent or semiclassical states in canonical quantum gravity describe the classical Schwarzschild space-time. By tracing over the coherent state wavefunction inside the horizon, a density matrix is derived. Bekenstein-Hawking entropy is…
We consider the quantization of space-times which can possess different topologies within a symmetry reduced version of Wheeler-DeWitt theory. The quantum states are defined from a natural decomposition as an outer-product of a topological…
In this essay, we argue that the problem of time should not be regarded as an issue to be resolved within the prevailing framework for studying quantum gravity, but rather as an indication that there is an issue within the framework itself.…
An approach to the quantization of gravity in the presence matter is examined which starts from the classical Einstein-Hilbert action and matter approximated by "point" particles minimally coupled to the metric. Upon quantization, the…
A quadratic semiclassical theory, regarding the interaction of gravity with a massive scalar quantum field, is considered in view of the renormalizable energy-momentum tensor in a multi-dimensional curved spacetime. According to it, a…
We consider classical and quantum dynamics of a free particle in de Sitter's space-times with different topologies to see what happens to space-time singularities of removable type in quantum theory. We find analytic solution of the…
One of the obstacles to reconciling quantum theory with general relativity, is constructing a theory which is both consistent with observation, and and gives finite answers at high energy, so that the theory holds at arbitrarily short…
The physics of low-energy quantum systems is usually studied without explicit consideration of the background spacetime. Phenomena inherent to quantum theory on curved space-time, such as Hawking radiation, are typically assumed to be only…
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…
It has recently been proposed that quantum gravity might lead to the decoherence of superpositions in energy, corresponding to a discretization of time at the Planck scale. At first sight the proposal seems amenable to experimental…
We propose a method to construct quantum theory of matter fields in a topology changing universe. Analytic continuation of the semiclassical gravity of a Lorentzian geometry leads to a non-unitary Schr\"{o}dinger equation in a Euclidean…
We review a novel and authentic way to quantize gravity. This novel approach is based on the fact that Einstein gravity can be formulated in terms of a symplectic geometry rather than a Riemannian geometry in the context of emergent…
We discuss from a philosophical perspective the way in which the normal concept of time might be said to `emerge' in a quantum theory of gravity. After an introduction, we briefly discuss the notion of emergence, without regard to time…