Related papers: Gravitational Quantum Limit for Length Measurement…
Quantum fluctuations of the spacetime metric induce an uncertainty in the horizon area of a black hole. Working in linearized quantum gravity, we derive the variance in the area of a four-dimensional Schwarzschild black hole from the…
It has been proposed to study gravitational lenses from measurements of the spectrum of the fluctuations of the output current of a quadratic detector. The spatial correlation coefficient of the source is the fundamental parameter of the…
Contemporary gravitational-wave detectors are fundamentally limited by thermal noise -- due to dissipation in the mechanical elements of the test mass -- and quantum noise -- from the vacuum fluctuations of the optical field used to probe…
We address estimation of the minimum length arising from gravitational theories. In particular, we provide bounds on precision and assess the use of quantum probes to enhance the estimation performances. At first, we review the concept of…
With the simplest proof ever, we justify the significance of quantum-gravity in non-relativistic quantum mechanics together with the related theories and experiments. Since the de Broglie wave length is inverse proportional to the mass, it…
We calculate the power spectrum of vacuum fluctuations of a generic scalar field in a quantum cosmological setting that is manifestly singularity-free. The power spectrum is given in terms of the usual scale invariant spectrum plus scale…
We consider in this paper the quantum limits for measurements on macroscopic bodies which are obtained in a novel way employing the concept of decoherence coming from an analysis of the quantum mechanics of dissipative systems. Two cases…
We critically analyse and compare various recent thought experiments, performed by Amelino-Camelia, Ng et al., Baez et al., Adler et al., and ourselves, concerning the (thought)experimental accessibility of the Planck scale by space-time…
The vacuum must contain virtual fluctuations of black hole microstates for each mass $M$. We observe that the expected suppression for $M\gg m_p$ is counteracted by the large number $Exp[S_{bek}]$ of such states. From string theory we learn…
We study the fluctuations in the vacuum zero point energy associated to quantum fields and their statistical distributions during inflation. It is shown that the perturbations in the vacuum zero point energy have large amplitudes which are…
A satisfactory theory of quantum gravity will very likely require modification of our classical perception of space-time, perhaps by giving it a 'foamy' structure at scales of order the Planck length. This is expected to modify the…
Fluctuations of the electromagnetic field produced by quantized matter in external electric field are investigated. A general expression for the power spectrum of fluctuations is derived within the long-range expansion. It is found that in…
Quantum gravitational fluctuations of the space-time background, described by virtual D branes, may induce neutrino oscillations if a tiny violation of the Lorentz invariance (or a violation of the equivalence principle) is imposed. In this…
The generalized uncertainty principle and a minimum measurable length arise in various theories of gravity and predict Planck-scale modifications of the canonical position-momentum commutation relation. Postulating a similar modified…
The quantum fluctuations of horizons in Robertson-Walker universes and in the Schwarzschild spacetime are discussed. The source of the metric fluctuations is taken to be quantum linear perturbations of the gravitational field. Lightcone…
A modification to the time-energy uncertainty relation in quantum gravity has been interpreted as increasing the duration of fluctuations producing virtual black holes with masses greater than the Planck mass. I point out that such virtual…
Non-vanishing fluctuations of the vacuum state are a salient feature of quantum theory. These fluctuations fundamentally limit the precision of quantum sensors. Nowadays, several systems such as optical clocks, gravitational wave detectors,…
It was recently claimed that the Planck length is not a limit to the precision by which we can measure distances, but that instead it is merely the Planck volume that limits the precision by which we can measure volumes. Here, we…
By taking into account both quantum mechanical and general relativistic effects, I derive an equation that describes limitations on the measurability of space-time distances as defined by a material reference system.
Quantum sensors allow the estimation of parameters with precision higher than that obtained with classical strategies. Devices based on quantum physics have allowed the precise estimation of the gravitational field, the detailed imaging of…