Related papers: A possible solution to the problem of time in quan…
It is argued that the so-called holographic principle will obstruct attempts to produce physically realistic models for the unification of general relativity with quantum mechanics, unless determinism in the latter is restored. The notion…
In a recent paper (arXiv:1412.6000) a general mechanism for emergence of cosmological space-time geometry from a quantum gravity setting was devised and departure from standard dispersion relations for elementary particle were predicted. We…
Time-symmetric cosmological theories, in which the initial and final states are arranged to have similar features or are independently fixed, have been quite extensively discussed in the literature. However, a more general and perhaps more…
The incompatibility between GR and QM is generally seen as a sufficient motivation for the development of a theory of Quantum Gravity. If - so a typical argumentation - QM gives a universally valid basis for the description of all natural…
A discursive, non-technical, analysis is made of some of the basic issues that arise in almost any approach to quantum gravity, and of how these issues stand in relation to recent developments in the field. Specific topics include the…
We emphasize that noncommutative (NC) spacetime necessarily implies emergent spacetime if spacetime at microscopic scales should be viewed as NC. In order to understand NC spacetime correctly, we need to deactivate the thought patterns that…
The Problem of Time occurs because the `time' of GR and of ordinary Quantum Theory are mutually incompatible notions. This is problematic in trying to replace these two branches of physics with a single framework in situations in which the…
In the covariant canonical approach to classical physics, each point in phase space represents an entire classical trajectory. Initial data at a fixed time serve as coordinates for this ``timeless'' phase space, and time evolution can be…
We formulate the quantum mechanics of the solutions of a Klein-Gordon-type field equation: (\partial_t^2+D)\psi(t)=0, where D is a positive-definite operator acting in a Hilbert space \tilde H. We determine all the positive-definite inner…
Within some approaches to loop quantum cosmology, the existence of an Euclidean phase at high density has been suggested. In this article, we try to explain clearly what are the observable consequences of this possible disappearance of…
Emergent gravity views spacetime as an entity emergent from a more complete theory of interacting fundamental constituents valid at much finer resolution or higher energies, usually assumed to be above the Planck energy. In this view…
We summarize our investigation of the extent to which the choice of internal clock influences the dynamics in quantum models of gravity. Firstly, at the classical level, we define an extension to the Hamilton-Jacobi theory of contact…
We highlight three conflicts between quantum theory and classical general relativity, which make it implausible that a quantum theory of gravity can be arrived at by quantising classical gravity. These conflicts are: quantum nonlocality and…
We apply a recent proposal for defining states and observables in quantum gravity to simple models. First, we consider a Klein-Gordon particle in an ex- ternal potential in Minkowski space and compare our proposal to the theory ob- tained…
We discuss the derivation of the so-called semi-classical equations for both mini-superspace and dilaton gravity. We find that there is no systematic derivation of a semi-classical theory in which quantum mechanics is formulated in a…
Quantum matter in quantum space-time is discussed using general properties of energy-conservation laws. As a rather radical conclusion, it is found that standard methods of differential geometry and quantum field theory on curved space-time…
We shall present here the causal interpretation of canonical quantum gravity in terms of new variables. Then we shall apply it to the minisuperspace of cosmology. A vacuum solution of quantum cosmology is obtained and the Bohmian trajectory…
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…
Approaches to quantum gravity often involve the disappearance of space and time at the fundamental level. The metaphysical consequences of this disappearance are profound, as is illustrated with David Lewis's analysis of modality. As…
I present a discussion of some open issues in the philosophy of space-time theories. Emphasis is put on the ontological nature of space and time, the relation between determinism and predictability, the origin of irreversible processes in…