Related papers: Gravitational Quantum Limit for Length Measurement…
A mirror scattering vacuum fields is submitted to a quantum fluctuating radiation pressure. It also experiences a motional force, related to force fluctuations through fluctuation-dissipation relations. The resulting position fluctuations…
For the purpose of analyzing observed phenomena, it has been convenient, and thus far sufficient, to regard gravity as subject to the deterministic principles of classical physics, with the gravitational field obeying Newton's law or…
We discuss some effects induced by quantum field fluctuations on mass, inertia and gravitation. Recalling the problem raised by vacuum field fluctuations with respect to inertia and gravitation, we show that vacuum energy differences, such…
We examine the gravitational properties of Lamb shift energies. Using available experimental data we show that these energies have a standard gravitational behavior at the level of $\sim 10^{-5}$. We are motivated by the point of view that…
Quantum noise limits the sensitivity of interferometric measurements. It is generally admitted that it leads to an ultimate sensitivity, the ``standard quantum limit''. Using a semi-classical analysis of quantum noise, we show that a…
Vacuum fluctuations can obscure the detection signal of the measurement of the smallest quantum objects like single particles seemingly implying a fundamental limit to measurement accuracy. However, as we show relativistic invariance…
We argue that quantum-gravitational fluctuations in the space-time background give the vacuum non-trivial optical properties that include diffusion and consequent uncertainties in the arrival times of photons, causing stochastic…
Inspired by the work of Wheeler among others, we have studied the problem of quantum measurements of space-time distances by applying the general principles of quantum mechanics as well as those of general relativity. Contrary to the…
A critical length has recently been identified that appears to provide a fundamental limit distinguishing quantum behavior from classical behavior. Because of the unique association between critical length and mass, it appears that we can…
Quantum gravity places entirely new challenges on the formulation of a consistent theory as well as on an extraction of potentially observable effects. Quantum corrections due to the gravitational field are commonly expected to be tiny…
The quite different behaviors exhibited by microscopic and macroscopic systems with respect to quantum interferences suggest that there may exist a naturally frontier between quantum and classical worlds. The value of the Planck mass…
By taking into account both quantum mechanical and general relativistic effects, I derive an equation that describes some limitations on the measurability of space-time distances. I then discuss possible features of quantum gravity which…
Precise measurements of tiny forces and displacements play an important role in science and technology. The precision of recent experiments, while beginning to reach the limits imposed by quantum mechanics, is necessarily spoiled by the…
We show that quantum mechanics and general relativity imply the existence of a minimal length. To be more precise, we show that no operational device subject to quantum mechanics, general relativity and causality could exclude the…
The notion of vacuum fluctuations of the gravitational field plays important role in cosmology. The strong variable gravitational field of the very early Universe amplifies these fluctuations and transforms them into macroscopical…
We consider quantum gravity fluctuations in a pair of nearby gravitational wave detectors. Quantum fluctuations of long-wavelength modes of the gravitational field induce coherent fluctuations in the detectors, leading to correlated noise.…
It is shown that quantum uncertainty of motion in systems controlled mainly by gravity generally grows with orbital timescale $H^{-1}$, and dominates classical motion for trajectories separated by distances less than $\approx H^{-3/5}$ in…
It is generally expected that quantum gravity affects the structure of space-time by introducing stochastic fluctuations in the geometry, and, ultimately, in the measurements of four-distances and four-momenta.These fluctuations may induce…
A satisfactory theory of quantum gravity may necessitate a drastic modification of our perception of space-time, by giving it a foamy structure at distances comparable to the Planck length. It is argued in this essay that the experimental…
We consider the uncertainty in the arm length of an interferometer due to metric fluctuations from the quantum nature of gravity, proposing a concrete microscopic model of energy fluctuations in holographic degrees of freedom on the surface…