Search results for "Spacetime"
showing 10 items of 159 documents
Finite Entanglement Entropy in Asymptotically Safe Quantum Gravity
2018
Entanglement entropies calculated in the framework of quantum field theory on classical, flat or curved, spacetimes are known to show an intriguing area law in four dimensions, but they are also notorious for their quadratic ultraviolet divergences. In this paper we demonstrate that the analogous entanglement entropies when computed within the Asymptotic Safety approach to background independent quantum gravity are perfectly free from such divergences. We argue that the divergences are an artifact due to the over-idealization of a rigid, classical spacetime geometry which is insensitive to the quantum dynamics.
Decoherence induced CPT violation and entangled neutral mesons
2006
We discuss two classes of semi-microscopic theoretical models of stochastic space-time foam in quantum gravity and the associated effects on entangled states of neutral mesons, signalling an intrinsic breakdown of CPT invariance. One class of models deals with a specific model of foam, initially constructed in the context of non-critical (Liouville) string theory, but viewed here in the more general context of effective quantum-gravity models. The relevant Hamiltonian perturbation, describing the interaction of the meson with the foam medium, consists of off-diagonal stochastic metric fluctuations, connecting distinct mass eigenstates (or the appropriate generalisation thereof in the case o…
Adiabatic regularization for spin-1/2 fields
2013
We extend the adiabatic regularization method to spin-1/2 fields. The ansatz for the adiabatic expansion for fermionic modes differs significantly from the WKB-type template that works for scalar modes. We give explicit expressions for the first adiabatic orders and analyze particle creation in de Sitter spacetime. As for scalar fields, the adiabatic method can be distinguished by its capability to overcome the UV divergences of the particle number operator. We also test the consistency of the extended method by working out the conformal and axial anomalies for a Dirac field in a Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker spacetime, in exact agreement with those obtained from other renormalization…
Generalized cosmological term from Maxwell symmetries
2010
By gauging the Maxwell spacetime algebra the standard geometric framework of Einstein gravity with cosmological constant term is extended by adding six fourvector fields A_\mu^{ab}(x) associated with the six abelian tensorial charges in the Maxwell algebra. In the simplest Maxwell extension of Einstein gravity this leads to a generalized cosmological term that includes a contribution from these vector fields. We also consider going beyond the basic gravitational model by means of bilinear actions for the new Abelian gauge fields. Finally, an analogy with the supersymmetric generalization of gravity is indicated. In an Appendix, we propose an equivalent description of the model in terms of a…
Geodesic completeness in a wormhole spacetime with horizons
2015
The geometry of a spacetime containing a wormhole generated by a spherically symmetric electric field is investigated in detail. These solutions arise in high-energy extensions of General Relativity formulated within the Palatini approach and coupled to Maxwell electrodynamics. Even though curvature divergences generically arise at the wormhole throat, we find that these spacetimes are geodesically complete. This provides an explicit example where curvature divergences do not imply spacetime singularities.
Short-distance contribution to the spectrum of Hawking radiation
2006
The Hawking effect can be rederived in terms of two-point functions and in such a way that it makes it possible to estimate, within the conventional semiclassical theory, the contribution of ultrashort distances to the Planckian spectrum. For Schwarzschild black holes of three solar masses the analysis shows that Hawking radiation is very robust up to frequencies of 96 T_H or 270 T_H for bosons and fermions, respectively. For primordial black holes (with masses around 10^{15} g) these frequencies turn out to be of order 52T_H and 142 T_H. Only at these frequencies and above do we find that the contribution of Planck distances is of order of the total spectrum itself. Below this scale, the c…
Equivalence of Adiabatic and DeWitt-Schwinger renormalization schemes
2014
We prove that adiabatic regularization and DeWitt-Schwinger point-splitting provide the same result for the renormalized expectation values of the stress-energy tensor for spin-$1/2$ fields. This generalizes the equivalence found for scalar fields, which is here recovered in a different way. We also argue that the coincidence limit of the DeWitt-Schwinger proper time expansion of the two-point function exactly agrees with the analogous expansion defined by the adiabatic regularization method at any order (for both scalar and spin-$1/2$ fields). We also illustrate the power of the adiabatic method to compute higher order DeWitt coefficients in FLRW universes.
Scattering amplitudes in affine gravity
2020
Affine gravity is a connection-based formulation of gravity that does not involve a metric. After a review of basic properties of affine gravity, we compute the tree-level scattering amplitude of scalar particles interacting gravitationally via the connection in a curved spacetime. We find that, while classically equivalent to general relativity, affine gravity differs from metric quantum gravity.
Running gravitational couplings, decoupling, and curved spacetime renormalization
2020
We propose to slightly generalize the DeWitt-Schwinger adiabatic renormalization subtractions in curved space to include an arbitrary renormalization mass scale $\mu$. The new predicted running for the gravitational couplings are fully consistent with decoupling of heavy massive fields. This is a somewhat improvement with respect to the more standard treatment of minimal (DeWitt-Schwinger) subtractions via dimensional regularization. We also show how the vacuum metamorphosis model emerges from the running couplings.
En route to Background Independence: Broken split-symmetry, and how to restore it with bi-metric average actions
2014
The most momentous requirement a quantum theory of gravity must satisfy is Background Independence, necessitating in particular an ab initio derivation of the arena all non-gravitational physics takes place in, namely spacetime. Using the background field technique, this requirement translates into the condition of an unbroken split-symmetry connecting the (quantized) metric fluctuations to the (classical) background metric. If the regularization scheme used violates split-symmetry during the quantization process it is mandatory to restore it in the end at the level of observable physics. In this paper we present a detailed investigation of split-symmetry breaking and restoration within the…