Related papers: Deterrents to a Theory of Quantum Gravity

We investigate the interaction of the gravitational field with a quantum particle. First, we give the proof of the equality of the inertial and the gravitational mass for the nonrelativistic quantum particle, independently of the…

So far, none of attempts to quantize gravity has led to a satisfactory model that not only describe gravity in the realm of a quantum world, but also its relation to elementary particles and other fundamental forces. Here, we outline the…

We investigate the possibility that dark energy does not couple to gravitation in the same way than ordinary matter, yielding a violation of the weak and strong equivalence principles on cosmological scales. We build a transient mechanism…

We study how self gravitation of quantum systems affects the quantum coherence present in their state. Spatial superpositions of static, large, heavy systems tend to rapidly lose coherence, whereas light or massless particles are…

Fundamental constants are a cornerstone of the physical laws. Any constant varying in space and/or time would signal a violation of local position invariance and be associated with a violation of the universality of free fall, and hence of…

Quantum gravity is likely the deepest problem facing current physics. While traditionally associated with short distance nonrenormalizability, it is evident that the long distance problem of unitarity, arising at high energies with black…

The implementation of Einstein's principle of equivalence in Koopman-von Neumann (KvN) mechanics is discussed. The implementation is very similar to the implementation of this principle in quantum mechanics. This is not surprising, because…

Scaling laws for critical phenomena take pivotal status in almost all branches of physics. However, as scaling laws are commonly guaranteed by the renormalization group theory, systems that violate them have rarely been found. In this…

While most fundamental interactions in nature are known to be mediated by quantized fields, the possibility has been raised that gravity may behave differently. Making this concept precise enough to test requires consistent models. Here we…

We discuss what we take to be three possible misconceptions in the foundations of general relativity, relating to: (a) the interpretation of the weak equivalence principle and the relationship between gravity and inertia; (b) the connection…

General Relativity is today the best theory of gravity addressing a wide range of phenomena. Our understanding of physical laws, from cosmology to local scales, cannot be properly formulated without taking into account it. It is based on…

We investigate whether the classical equivalence of $f(R)$ gravity and its formulation as scalar-tensor theory still holds at the quantum level. We explicitly compare the corresponding one-loop divergences and find that the equivalence is…

The Hellmann-Feynman, virial and comparison theorems are three fundamental theorems of quantum mechanics. For the first two, counterparts exist for classical mechanics with relativistic or nonrelativistic kinetic energy. It is shown here…

In this paper, we study implications of the geometrical nature of space- time for some of the basic tenets of quantum mechanics. That is, we study two different implications of the principle of general covariance; first we quantize a…

Friction incorporates the close connection between classical mechanics in irreversible thermodynamics. The translation to a quantum mechanical foundation is not trivial and requires a generalization of the Lagrange function. A change to…

We study the non-relativistic limit of Dirac equation for mixed neutrinos. We demonstrate that such a procedure inevitably leads to a redefinition of the inertial mass. This happens because, in contrast to the case when mixing is absent,…

The inclusion of gravitation within the framework of quantum theory remains one of the most prominent open problem in physics. To date, the absence of empirical evidence hampers conclusions regarding the fundamental nature of gravity --…

Quantum mechanics (QM) clearly violates Newton's First Law of Motion (NFLM) in the quantum domain for one of the simplest problems, yielding an effect in a force-free region much like the Aharonov-Bohm effect. In addition, there is an…

In this work we consider some consequences of the Bohr-Sommerfeld-Hansson (Old or quasi-classical) quantum theory of the Newtonian gravity, i.e. of the "gravitational atom". We prove that in this case (for gravitational central force and…

We have previously presented a version of the Weak Equivalence Principle for a quantum particle as an exact analog of the classical case, based on the Heisenberg picture analysis of free particle motion. Here, we take that to a full…