Gravity induced from quantum spacetime

Quantum Gravity, 2000

This is a self-contained introduction to quantum Riemannian geometry based on quantum groups as frame groups, and its proposed role in quantum gravity. Much of the article is about the generalisation of classical Riemannian geometry that arises naturally as the classical limit; a theory with nonsymmetric metric and a skew version of metric compatibilty. Meanwhile, in quantum gravity a key ingredient of our approach is the proposal that the differential structure of spacetime is something that itself must be summed over or 'quantised' as a physical degree of freedom. We illustrate such a scheme for quantum gravity on small finite sets.

Quantum Gravity Mathematical Models and Experimental Bounds, 2007

This is a self-contained introduction to quantum Riemannian geometry based on quantum groups as frame groups, and its proposed role in quantum gravity. Much of the article is about the generalisation of classical Riemannian geometry that arises naturally as the classical limit; a theory with nonsymmetric metric and a skew version of metric compatibilty. Meanwhile, in quantum gravity a key ingredient of our approach is the proposal that the differential structure of spacetime is something that itself must be summed over or 'quantised' as a physical degree of freedom. We illustrate such a scheme for quantum gravity on small finite sets.

J.Korean Phys.Soc. 65 (2014) 1754-1798

We review a novel and authentic way to quantize gravity. This novel approach is based on the fact that Einstein gravity can be formulated in terms of symplectic geometry rather than Riemannian geometry in the context of emergent gravity. An essential step for emergent gravity is to realize the equivalence principle, the most important property in the theory of gravity (general relativity), from U(1) gauge theory on a symplectic or Poisson manifold. Through the realization of the equivalence principle which is an intrinsic property in symplectic geometry known as the Darboux theorem or the Moser lemma, one can understand how diffeomorphism symmetry arises from noncommutative U(1) gauge theory and so gravity can emerge from the noncommutative electromagnetism, which is also an interacting theory. As a consequence, it is feasible to formulate a background independent quatum gravity where the prior existence of any spacetime structure is not a priori assumed but defined by fundamental ingredients in quantum gravity theory. This scheme for quantum gravity resolves many notorious problems in theoretical physics, for example, to resolve the cosmological constant problem, to understand the nature of dark energy and to explain why gravity is so weak compared to other forces. In particular, it leads to a remarkable picture for what matter is. A matter field such as leptons and quarks simply arises as a stable localized geometry, which is a topological object in the defining algebra (noncommutative ⋆-algebra) of quantum gravity.

Toward a New Understanding of Space, Time and Matter, 2009

We provide a self-contained introduction to the quantum group approach to noncommutative geometry as the next-to-classical effective geometry that might be expected from any successful quantum gravity theory. We focus particularly on a thorough account of the bicrossproduct model noncommutative spacetimes of the form [t, xi] = ıλxi and the correct formulation of predictions for it including a variable speed of light. We also study global issues in the Poincaré group in the model with the 2D case as illustration. We show that any off-shell momentum can be boosted to infinite negative energy by a finite Lorentz transformaton.

Classical and Quantum Gravity, 2011

We show that the principal part of the Dirac Hamiltonian in 3+1 dimensions emerges in a semi-classical approximation from a construction which encodes the kinematics of quantum gravity. The construction is a spectral triple over a configuration space of connections. It involves an algebra of holonomy loops represented as bounded operators on a separable Hilbert space and a Dirac type operator. Semiclassical states, which involve an averaging over points at which the product between loops is defined, are constructed and it is shown that the Dirac Hamiltonian emerges as the expectation value of the Dirac type operator on these states in a semi-classical approximation.

2011

These notes summarise a talk surveying the combinatorial or Hamiltonian quantisation of three dimensional gravity in the Chern-Simons formulation, with an emphasis on the role of quantum groups and on the way the various physical constants (c,G,\Lambda,\hbar) enter as deformation parameters. The classical situation is summarised, where solutions can be characterised in terms of model spacetimes (which depend on c and \Lambda), together with global identifications via elements of the corresponding isometry groups. The quantum theory may be viewed as a deformation of this picture, with quantum groups replacing the local isometry groups, and non-commutative spacetimes replacing the classical model spacetimes. This point of view is explained, and open issues are sketched.

European Physical Journal C, 2021

The theoretical problem of establishing the coupling properties existing between the classical and quantum gravitational field with the Ricci and Riemann curvature tensors of General Relativity is addressed. The mathematical framework is provided by synchronous Hamilton variational principles and the validity of classical and quantum canonical Hamiltonian structures for the gravitational field dynamics. It is shown that, for the classical variational theory, manifestly-covariant Hamiltonian functions expressed by either the Ricci or Riemann tensors are both admitted, which yield the correct form of Einstein field equations. On the other hand, the corresponding realization of manifestlycovariant quantum gravity theories is not equivalent. The requirement imposed is that the Hamiltonian potential should represent a positive-definite quadratic form when performing a quadratic expansion around the equilibrium solution. This condition in fact warrants the existence of positive eigenvalues of the quantum Hamiltonian in the harmonic-oscillator representation, to be related to the graviton mass. Accordingly, it is shown that in the background of the deSitter spacetime, only the Ricci tensor coupling is physically admitted. In contrast, the coupling of quantum gravitational field with the Riemann tensor generally prevents the possibility of achieving a Hamiltonian potential appropriate for the implementation of the quantum harmonic-oscillator solution.

arXiv (Cornell University), 2017

A general formula is calculated for the connection of a central metric w.r.t.\ a noncommutative spacetime of Lie-algebraic type. This is done by using the framework of linear connections on central bi-modules. The general formula is further on used to calculate the corresponding Riemann tensor and prove the corresponding Bianchi identities and certain symmetries that are essential to obtain a symmetric and divergenceless Einstein Tensor. In particular, the obtained Einstein Tensor is not equivalent to the sum of the noncommutative Riemann tensor and scalar, as in the commutative case, but in addition a traceless term appears.

Letters in Mathematical Physics, 2000

We introduce the notion of a "quantum structure" on an Einstein general relativistic classical spacetime M . It consists of a line bundle over M equipped with a connection fulfilling certain conditions. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of quantum structures, and classify them. The existence and classification results are analogous to those of geometric quantisation (Kostant and Souriau), but they involve the topology of spacetime, rather than the topology of the configuration space. We provide physically relevant examples, such as the Dirac monopole, the Aharonov-Bohm effect and the Kerr-Newman spacetime.

2005

Quantum mechanics in its presently known formulation requires an external classical time for its description. A classical spacetime manifold and a classical spacetime metric are produced by classical matter fields. In the absence of such classical matter fields, quantum mechanics should be formulated without reference to a classical time. If such a new formulation exists, it follows as a consequence that standard linear quantum mechanics is a limiting case of an underlying non-linear quantum theory. A possible approach to the new formulation is through the use of noncommuting spacetime coordinates in noncommutative differential geometry. Here, the non-linear theory is described by a non-linear Schrodinger equation which belongs to the Doebner-Goldin class of equations, discovered some years ago. This mass-dependent non-linearity is significant when particle masses are comparable to Planck mass, and negligible otherwise. Such a nonlinearity is in principle detectable through experimental tests of quantum mechanics for mesoscopic systems, and is a valuable empirical probe of theories of quantum gravity. We also briefly remark on the possible connection our approach could have with loop quantum gravity and string theory.