Related papers: On the Microscopical Structure of the Classical Sp…
The problem of understanding quantum mechanics is in large measure the problem of finding appropriate ways of thinking about the spatial and temporal aspects of the physical world. The standard, substantival, set-theoretic conception of…
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 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…
When compared to quantum mechanics, classical mechanics is often depicted in a specific metaphysical flavour: spatio-temporal realism or a Newtonian "background" is presented as an intrinsic fundamental classical presumption. However, the…
In prior work, we have argued that spacetime functionalism provides tools for clarifying the conceptual difficulties specifically linked to the emergence of spacetime in certain approaches to quantum gravity. We argue in this article that…
Linearized Einstein gravity (with possibly nonzero cosmological constant) is quantized in the framework of algebraic quantum field theory by analogy with Dimock's treatment of electromagnetism [Rev. Math. Phys. 4 (1992) 223--233]. To…
General relativity describes the gravitational field geometrically and in a self-interacting way because it couples to all forms of energy, including its own. Both features make finding a quantum theory difficult, yet it is important in the…
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 give a brief overview of the nature of spacetime emerging from string theory. This is radically different from the familiar spacetime of Einstein's relativity. At a perturbative level, the spacetime metric appears as ``coupling…
Bohmian mechanics can be generalized to a relativistic theory without preferred foliation, with a price of introducing a puzzling concept of spacetime probability conserved in a scalar time. We explain how analogous concept appears…
Usual quantum mechanics requires a fixed, background, spacetime geometry and its associated causal structure. A generalization of the usual theory may therefore be needed at the Planck scale for quantum theories of gravity in which…
Any canonical quantum theory can be understood to arise from the compatibility of the statistical geometry of distinguishable observations with the canonical Poisson structure of Hamiltonian dynamics. This geometric perspective offers a…
We present a new description of discrete space-time in 1+1 dimensions in terms of a set of elementary geometrical units that represent its independent classical degrees of freedom. This is achieved by means of a binary encoding that is…
The rules of quantum mechanics require a time coordinate for their formulation. However, a notion of time is in general possible only when a classical spacetime geometry exists. Such a geometry is itself produced by classical matter…
Since Einstein's equations $G_{ij} = 8\pi \, G \, T_{ij} \, / c^4 $ relate the metric $g_{ij}$ of spacetime to the energy-momentum tensor $T_{ij}$ which is a quantum field, the metric $g_{ij}$ must be a quantum field. And since the metric…
Getting the mathematical rules for quantised black holes correctly is far from straightforward. Many earlier treatises got it not quite correctly. The general relativistic transformation linking the distant observer (who only detects…
A recent notion in theoretical physics is that not all quantum theories arise from quantising a classical system. Also, a given quantum model may possess more than just one classical limit. These facts find strong evidence in string duality…
The contemporary physics has revealed growing evidences that the emergence can be applied to not only biology and condensed matter systems but also gravity and spacetime. We observe that noncommutative spacetime necessarily implies emergent…
The geometric foundations of General Relativity are revisited, with particular attention to its gauge invariance, as a key to understanding the true nature of spacetime. Beyond the common image of spacetime as a deformable 'fabric' filling…
We argue that a microscopic structure for space-time such as that expected in a quantum foam scenario, in which microscopic wormholes and other topological structures should play a relevant role, might lead to an effective metric-affine…