Related papers: Planck Scale Phenomena
We contrast two theories which both start in one dimension at the Planck scale, viz., Quantum SuperString or M-Theory and a theory of Planck oscillations
Recent progress in quantum gravity and string theory has raised interest among scientists to whether or not nature behaves discretely at the Planck scale. There are two attitudes twoards this discretenes i.e. top-down and bottom-up…
Suppose the usual description of spacetime as a 4-dimensional manifold with a Lorentzian metric breaks down at Planck energies. Can we still construct sensible theoretical models of the universe? Are they testable? Do they lead to a…
I briefly review some scenarios for the role of the Planck length in quantum gravity. In particular, I examine the differences between the schemes in which quantum gravity is expected to introduce a maximum acceleration and the schemes in…
Scale dependence of fundamental physical parameters is a generic feature of ordinary quantum field theory. When applied to gravity, this idea produces effective actions generically containing a running Newtonian coupling constant, from…
We trace the historical appearance of Planck's constant in physics, and we note that initially the constant did not appear in connection with quanta. Furthermore, we emphasize that Planck's constant can appear in both classical and quantum…
Recent developments in string duality suggest that the string scale may not be irrevocably tied to the Planck scale. Two explicit but unrealistic examples are described where the ratio of the string scale to the Planck scale is arbitrarily…
A particle spectrum below the string scale in accordance with predictions from heterotic string theory yields a Planck mass $m_{Pl}=(8\pi G_N)^{-1/2}$ which exceeds the string scale by a factor $\simeq 61.9$. A Planck mass…
The existence of a new fundamental scale may lead to modified dispersion relations for particles at high energies. Such modifications seem to be realized with the Planck scale in certain descriptions of quantum gravity. We apply effective…
We assume that space-time at the Planck scale is discrete, quantised in Planck units and "qubitsed" (each pixel of Planck area encodes one qubit), that is, quantum space-time can be viewed as a quantum computer. Within this model, one finds…
The Planck units were originally derived from a dimensional analysis without a deeper understanding of their meaning. It was later believed that these units may provide a link between quantum theory and gravity in a yet to be developed…
The quantum theory of gravity is considered based on the assumption that gravitational interaction occurs by means of the vector field of the Planck mass. Gravitational emission is considered as a process of the decay of proton into some…
We review a few topics in Planck-scale physics, with emphasis on possible manifestations in relatively low energy. The selected topics include quantum fluctuations of spacetime, their cumulative effects, uncertainties in energy-momentum…
Quantum vorticity occurs in superfluidity, which arises from a spatial variation of the quantum phase. As such, it can occur in diverse systems over a wide range of scales, from the electroweak sector and QCD of the standard model of…
The Planck scale is usually believed to be an unpassable wall. Putting a cutoff there and thinking of it as a quantized spacetime entity shows that. However, this is exactly the cause of many problems in quantum gravity. The cosmological…
The study of physics at the Planck scale has garnered significant attention due to its implications for understanding the fundamental nature of the universe. At the Planck scale, quantum fluctuations challenge the classical notion of…
A new class of electromagnetic composite particles is proposed. The composites are very small (the Compton scale), potentially long-lived, would have unique interactions with atomic and nuclear systems, and, if they exist, could explain a…
Based on a Planck scale underpinning for the universe, we deduce an expression for the gravitational constant which exhibits it as a distributional effect over all the particles of the universe. This solves a long standing puzzle, the so…
The hypothesis of a discrete fabric of the universe--the "Planck scale"--is always on stage, since it solves mathematical and conceptual problems in the infinitely small. However, it clashes with special relativity, which is designed for…
The Standard Model of the elementary particles is controlled by more than 20 parameters, of which it is not known today how they can be linked to deeper principles. Any attempt to clean up this theory, in general results in producing more…