Foundational problems in quantum gravity and quantum cosmology

The conventionalistically based instrumentalist epistemology and methodology underlying the various approaches to the quantization of gravity is contrasted with the operationally based logical analysis practiced by the founders of relativity theory and quantum mechanics in developing their respective disciplines. The foundational problems to which they give rise are described. Their origins are traced to instrumentalist practices which have been in the past the objects of criticisms by Dirac, Heisenberg, Born, and others, but which have nevertheless prevailed in relativistic quantum physics after the emergence of the conventional renormalization program. The operationally based premises of a recently developed geometro-stochastic approach to the quantization of gravity are analyzed. It is shown that their roots lie in the epistemology adopted by the founders of relativity theory and quantum mechanics, and that they reflect a conceptualization of quantum reality which offers the possibility of a resolution of the main foundational problems encountered by the other approaches to quantum gravity.     

The unpredictability of quantum gravity

Quantum gravity seems to introduce a new level of unpredictability into physics over and above that normally associated with the uncertainty principle. This is because the metric of spacetime can fluctuate from being globally hyperbolic. In other words, the evolution is not completely determined by Cauchy data at past or future infinity. I present a number of axioms that the asymptotic Green functions should obey in any reasonable theory of quantum gravity. These axioms are the same as for ordinary quantum field theory in flat spacetime, except that one axiom, that of asymptotic completeness, is omitted. This allows pure quantum states to decay into mixed states. Calculations with simple models of topologically non-trivial spacetime indicate that such loss of quantum coherence will occur but that the effect will be very small except for fundamental scalar particles, if any such exist.     

The flavor of quantum gravity

We develop an effective field theory to describe the coupling of non-thermal quantum black holes to particles such as those of the Standard Model. The effective Lagrangian is determined by imposing that the production cross section of a non-thermal quantum black hole be given by the usual geometrical cross section. Having determined the effective Lagrangian, we estimate the contribution of a virtual hole to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, μ→eγ transition and to the electric dipole moment of the neutron. We obtain surprisingly weak bounds on the Planck mass due to a chiral suppression factor in the calculated low energy observables. The tightest bounds come from μ→eγ and the limit on the neutron electric dipole moment. These bounds are in the few TeV region.     

The physics of quantum gravity

Quantum gravity is still very mysterious and far from being well understood. In this text we review the motivations for the quantification of gravity, and some expected physical consequences. We discuss the remarkable relations between scattering processes in quantum gravity and in Yang–Mills theory, and the role of string theory as a unifying theory.     

Continuum-regularized quantum gravity

The recent continuum regularization ofd-dimensional Euclidean gravity is generalized to arbitrary power-law measure and studied in some detail as a representative example of coordinate-invariant regularization. The weak-coupling expansion of the theory illustrates a generic geometrization of regularized Schwinger-Dyson rules, generalizing previous rules in flat space and flat superspace. The rules are applied in a non-trivial explicit check of Einstein invariance at one loop: The cosmological counterterm is computed and its contribution is included in a verification that the graviton mass is zero.     

Bohm's quantum potentials and quantum gravity

A generally covariant theory, written in the spirit of Bohm's theory of quantum potentials, which applies to spinless, non interacting, gravitating systems, is formulated. In this theory the quantum state is coupled to the metric tensor g, and the effect of the quantum potential is absorbed in the geometry. At the same time, satisfies a covariant wave equation with respect to the very same g. This provides sufficient constraints to derive 11 coupled equations in the 11 unknowns: and the components of the metric tensor g_µv. The states of stable localized particles are identified, and vacuum-state solutions for both the Euclidean and the Lorentzian case are explicitly presented.     

The Vilkovisky-DeWitt effective action for quantum gravity

The Vilkovisky-DeWitt effective action for gauge theories is reviewed and then discussed in the context of N-dimensional quantum gravity and quantum Kaluza-Klein theory. The formalism gives an effective action which is gauge-independent and gauge and field-parametrization invariant. These features are illustrated for the vacuum energy of N-dimensional gravity. The Bunch-Parker local momentum space approach is used to calculate also the induced Ricci scalar term in the expansion of the effective action in powers of the curvature. The effective field equations are applied to the self-consistent dimensional reduction of five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein theory. A solution exists, but is found to be physically unacceptable.     

The search for quantum gravity effects I

In this contribution the search for effects from possible theories of quantum gravity is reviewed. In order to distinguish quantum gravity effects from standard effects, first the standard theory and the principles it is based on has to be described. We show that standard physics (the Maxwell equations, the Dirac equation, gravity as a metric theory) is completely based on the Einstein equivalence principle, EEP (for obtaining the Einstein equations, some more requirements are needed). As a consequence, all deviations from the EEP are related to new effects originating from quantum gravity. The variety and structure of these effects is described and the expected magnitude of the effects and a corresponding strategy for the search for these effects are discussed. We stress the advantages of space for performing experiments searching for quantum gravity effects. At the end we make some remarks concerning the daily-life applications of high-precision techniques. PACS 04.80.Cc; 03.30.+p; 06.20.-f; 04.60.-m     

Einstein gravity emerging from quantum Weyl gravity

We advocate a conformal invariant world described by the sum of the Weyl, Dirac, and Yang-Mills action. Quantum fluctuations bring back Einstein gravity so that the long-distance phenomenology is as observed. Formulas for the induced Newton's constant and Eddington's constant are derived in quantized Weyl gravity. We show that the analogue of the trace anomaly for the Weyl action is structurally similar to that for the Yang-Mills action.     

Scaling in quantum gravity

The 2-point function is the natural object in quantum gravity for extracting critical behavior: The exponential falloff of the 2-point function with geodesic distance determines the fractal dimension d_H of space-time. The integral of the 2-point function determines the entropy exponent γ, i.e. the fractal structure related to baby universes, while the short distance behavior of the 2-point function connects γ and d_H by a quantum gravity version of Fisher's scaling relation. We verify this behavior in the case of 2d gravity by explicit calculation.     

Time and quantum gravity

The role of time in the interpretation of quantum mechanics and quantum gravity are analyzed, and changes to the form of quantum gravity to make it interpretable are suggested.     

Logics and quantum gravity

We consider the logic needed for models of quantum gravity, taking as our starting point a simple pregeometric toy model based on graph theory. First a discussion of quantum logic seen in the light of canonical quantum gravity is given, then a simple toy model is proposed and the logical structure underlying it exposed. It is then shown that this logic is nonclassical and in fact contains quantum logics as special cases. We then go on to show how Yang-Mills theory and quantum mechanics fits in. A single mathematical structure is proposed capable of containing all these subjects in a natural and elegant way. Causality plays an important role. The mere presence of a causal relation almost inevitably yields this kind of logic.     

Inflation from quantum gravity

A model for inflation based on a quantum gravity scenario is presented. The process allows inflation of a Planck size bubble to the observed universe.