Showing papers on "Quantum geometry published in 2011"

Loop Quantum Cosmology: A Status Report

Abstract: Loop quantum cosmology (LQC) is the result of applying principles of loop quantum gravity (LQG) to cosmological settings. The distinguishing feature of LQC is the prominent role played by the quantum geometry effects of LQG. In particular, quantum geometry creates a brand new repulsive force which is totally negligible at low spacetime curvature but rises very rapidly in the Planck regime, overwhelming the classical gravitational attraction. In cosmological models, while Einstein's equations hold to an excellent degree of approximation at low curvature, they undergo major modifications in the Planck regime: for matter satisfying the usual energy conditions, any time a curvature invariant grows to the Planck scale, quantum geometry effects dilute it, thereby resolving singularities of general relativity. Quantum geometry corrections become more sophisticated as the models become richer. In particular, in anisotropic models, there are significant changes in the dynamics of shear potentials which tame their singular behavior in striking contrast to older results on anisotropies in bouncing models. Once singularities are resolved, the conceptual paradigm of cosmology changes and one has to revisit many of the standard issues—e.g. the 'horizon problem'—from a new perspective. Such conceptual issues as well as potential observational consequences of the new Planck scale physics are being explored, especially within the inflationary paradigm. These considerations have given rise to a burst of activity in LQC in recent years, with contributions from quantum gravity experts, mathematical physicists and cosmologists. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of the current state of the art in LQC for three sets of audiences: young researchers interested in entering this area; the quantum gravity community in general and cosmologists who wish to apply LQC to probe modifications in the standard paradigm of the early universe. In this review, effort has been made to streamline the material so that each of these communities can read only the sections they are most interested in, without loss of continuity.

A proposal for testing quantum gravity in the lab

Abstract: Attempts to formulate a quantum theory of gravitation are collectively known as quantum gravity Various approaches to quantum gravity such as string theory and loop quantum gravity, as well as black hole physics and doubly special relativity theories predict a minimum measurable length, or a maximum observable momentum, and related modifications of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle to a so-called generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) We have proposed a GUP consistent with string theory, black hole physics, and doubly special relativity theories and have showed that this modifies all quantum mechanical Hamiltonians When applied to an elementary particle, it suggests that the space that confines it must be quantized, and in fact that all measurable lengths are quantized in units of a fundamental length (which can be the Planck length) On the one hand, this may signal the breakdown of the spacetime continuum picture near that scale, and on the other hand, it can predict an upper bound on the quantum gravity parameter in the GUP, from current observations Furthermore, such fundamental discreteness of space may have observable consequences at length scales much larger than the Planck scale Because this influences all the quantum Hamiltonians in an universal way, it predicts quantum gravity corrections to various quantum phenomena Therefore, in the present work we compute these corrections to the Lamb shift, simple harmonic oscillator, Landau levels, and the tunneling current in a scanning tunneling microscope

Polyhedra in loop quantum gravity

Abstract: Interwiners are the building blocks of spin-network states. The space of intertwiners is the quantization of a classical symplectic manifold introduced by Kapovich and Millson. Here we show that a theorem by Minkowski allows us to interpret generic configurations in this space as bounded convex polyhedra in 3 : a polyhedron is uniquely described by the areas and normals to its faces. We provide a reconstruction of the geometry of the polyhedron: we give formulas for the edge lengths, the volume and the adjacency of its faces. At the quantum level, this correspondence allows us to identify an intertwiner with the state of a quantum polyhedron, thus generalizing the notion of quantum tetrahedron familiar in the loop quantum gravity literature. Moreover, coherent intertwiners result to be peaked on the classical geometry of polyhedra. We discuss the relevance of this result for loop quantum gravity. In particular, coherent spin-network states with nodes of arbitrary valence represent a collection of semiclassical polyhedra. Furthermore, we introduce an operator that measures the volume of a quantum polyhedron and examine its relation with the standard volume operator of loop quantum gravity. We also comment on the semiclassical limit of spinfoams with non-simplicial graphs.

Quantum Plasmas: An Hydrodynamic Approach

Abstract: Introduction.- The Wigner-Poisson System.- The quantum two-stream instability.- A fluid model for quantum plasmas.- Quantum ion-acoustic waves.- Electromagnetic quantum plasmas.- The one-dimensional quantum Zakharov system.- The three-dimensional quantum Zakharov system.- The moments method.

Light fermions in quantum gravity

Abstract: We study the impact of quantum gravity, formulated as a quantum field theory of the metric, on chiral symmetry in a fermionic matter sector. We specifically address the question as to whether metric fluctuations can induce chiral symmetry breaking and bound state formation. Our results based on the functional Renormalization Group indicate that chiral symmetry is left intact even at strong gravitational coupling. In particular, we find that asymptotically safe quantum gravity where the gravitational couplings approach a non-Gaussian fixed point generically admits universes with light fermions. Our results thus further support quantum gravity theories built on fluctuations of the metric field such as the asymptotic-safety scenario. A study of chiral symmetry breaking through gravitational quantum effects may serve as a significant benchmark test also for other quantum gravity scenarios, since a completely broken chiral symmetry at the Planck scale would not be in accordance with the observation of light fermions in our universe. We demonstrate that this elementary observation already imposes constraints on a generic UV completion of gravity.

Loop quantum cosmology of the k = 1 FRW: A tale of two bounces

Abstract: We consider the $k=1$ Friedman-Robertson-Walker (FRW) model within loop quantum cosmology, paying special attention to the existence of an ambiguity in the quantization process In spatially nonflat anisotropic models such as Bianchi II and IX, the standard method of defining the curvature through closed holonomies is not admissible Instead, one has to implement the quantum constraints by approximating the connection via open holonomies In the case of flat $k=0$ FRW and Bianchi I models, these two quantization methods coincide, but in the case of the closed $k=1$ FRW model they might yield different quantum theories In this manuscript we explore these two quantizations and the different effective descriptions they provide of the bouncing cyclic universe In particular, as we show in detail, the most dramatic difference is that in the theory defined by the new quantization method, there is not one, but two different bounces through which the cyclic universe alternates We show that for a ``large'' universe, these two bounces are very similar and, therefore, practically indistinguishable, approaching the dynamics of the ``curvature-based'' quantum theory

Quantum Geometry of Refined Topological Strings

Abstract: We consider branes in refined topological strings. We argue that their wave-functions satisfy a Schrodinger equation depending on multiple times and prove this in the case where the topological string has a dual matrix model description. Furthermore, in the limit where one of the equivariant rotations approaches zero, the brane partition function satisfies a time-independent Schroedinger equation. We use this observation, as well as the back reaction of the brane on the closed string geometry, to offer an explanation of the connection between integrable systems and N=2 gauge systems in four dimensions observed by Nekrasov and Shatashvili.

A Short introduction to asymptotic safety

Abstract: I discuss the notion of asymptotic safety and possible applications to quantum field theories of gravity and matter.

Group field theories

Abstract: Group field theories are particular quantum field theories defined on D copies of a group which reproduce spin foam amplitudes on a space-time of dimension D. In these lecture notes, we present the general construction of group field theories, merging ideas from tensor models and loop quantum gravity. This lecture is organized as follows. In the first section, we present basic aspects of quantum field theory and matrix models. The second section is devoted to general aspects of tensor models and group field theory and in the last section we examine properties of the group field formulation of BF theory and the EPRL model. We conclude with a few possible research topics, like the construction of a continuum limit based on the double scaling limit or the relation to loop quantum gravity through Schwinger-Dyson equations

An Analogy of the Quantum Hall Condutivity in a Lorentz-symmetry Violation Setup

Abstract: We investigated some influences of unconventional physics, such Lorentz-symmetry violation, for quantum mechanical systems. In this context, we calculated a important contribution for Standard Model Extension. In the non-relativistic limit, we obtained a analogy of the Landau levels and the quantum Hall conductivity related to this contribution for low energy systems.

Quantum corrections to gravity

Abstract: This paper revisits quantum corrections to gravity. It was shown previously by other authors that quantum field theories in curved space time provide quadratic curvature forms as quantum corrections to gravity in a conformally flat metric. Application to a spherically symmetric and static (SSS) metric shows that only the Gauss Bonnet combination (GB) yields the correct expression. Using a variational method, the author shows that the metric he obtained in 1985 as an example in a simplified case was indeed the exact solution for a SSS metric. This proves that gravity becomes repulsive at short distances by quantum corrections.

Holonomy Corrections in the Effective Equations for Scalar Mode Perturbations in Loop Quantum Cosmology

Abstract: We study the dynamics of the scalar modes of linear perturbations around a flat, homogeneous and isotropic background in loop quantum cosmology. The equations of motion include quantum geometry effects and hold at all curvature scales so long as the wavelengths of the inhomogeneous modes of interest remain larger than the Planck length. These equations are obtained by including holonomy corrections in an effective Hamiltonian and then using the standard variational principle. We show that the effective scalar and diffeomorphism constraints are preserved by the dynamics. We also make some comments regarding potential inverse triad corrections.

Waves in a bounded quantum plasma with electron exchange-correlation effects

Abstract: Within a quantum hydrodynamic model, the collective excitations of the quantum plasma with electron exchange-correlation effects in a nano-cylindrical wave guide are studied both analytically and numerically. The influences of the electron exchange-correlation potential, the radius of the wave guide, and the quantum effect on the dispersion properties of the bounded quantum plasma are discussed. Significant frequency-shift induced by the electron exchange-correlation effect, the radius of the wave guide and the quantum correction are observed. It is found that the influence of the electron exchange-correlation, the radius of the wave guide and the quantum correction on the wave modes in a bounded nano-waveguide are strongly coupled.

Quantum Geometry on Quantum Spacetime: Distance, Area and Volume Operators

Abstract: We develop the first steps towards an analysis of geometry on the quantum spacetime proposed in Doplicher et al. (Commun Math Phys 172:187-220, 1995). The homogeneous elements of the universal differential algebra are naturally identified with operators living in tensor powers of Quantum Spacetime; this allows us to compute their spectra. In particular, we consider operators that can be interpreted as distances, areas, 3- and 4-volumes. The Minkowski distance operator between two independent events is shown to have pure Lebesgue spectrum with infinite multiplicity. The Euclidean distance operator is shown to have spectrum bounded below by a constant of the order of the Planck length. The corresponding statement is proved also for both the space-space and space-time area operators, as well as for the Euclidean length of the vector representing the 3-volume operators. However, the space 3-volume operator (the time component of that vector) is shown to have spectrum equal to the whole complex plane. All these operators are normal, while the distance operators are also selfadjoint. The Lorentz invariant spacetime volume operator, representing the 4-volume spanned by five independent events, is shown to be normal. Its spectrum is pure point with a finite distance (of the order of the fourth power of the Planck length) away from the origin. The mathematical formalism apt to these problems is developed and its relation to a general formulation of Gauge Theories on Quantum Spaces is outlined. As a byprod- uct, a Hodge Duality between the absolute differential and the Hochschild boundary is pointed out.

Quantum heat transfer in harmonic chains with self-consistent reservoirs: exact numerical simulations.

Abstract: We describe a numerical scheme for exactly simulating the heat current behavior in a quantum harmonic chain with self-consistent reservoirs. Numerically exact results are compared to classical simulations and to the quantum behavior under the linear-response approximation. In the classical limit or for small temperature biases our results coincide with previous calculations. At large bias and for low temperatures the quantum dynamics of the system fundamentally differs from the close-to-equilibrium behavior, revealing in particular the effect of thermal rectification for asymmetric chains. Since this effect is absent in the classical analog of our model, we conclude that in the quantum model studied here thermal rectification is a purely quantum phenomenon, rooted in the quantum statistics.

Unimodular loop quantum gravity and the problems of time

Abstract: We develop the quantization of unimodular gravity in the Plebanski and Ashtekar formulations and show that the quantum effective action defined by a formal path integral is unimodular. This means that the effective quantum geometry does not couple to terms in the expectation value of energy proportional to the metric tensor. The path integral takes the same form as is used to define spin foam models, with the additional constraint that the determinant of the four metric is constrained to be a constant by a gauge fixing term. This extends the results of [10] to the Hilbert space and path integral of loop quantum gravity. We review the proposal of Unruh, Wald and Sorkin- that the hamiltonian quantization yields quantum evolution in a physical time variable equal to elapsed four volume-and discuss how this may be carried out in loop quantum gravity.

Minimal length, maximal momentum and the entropic force law

Abstract: Different candidates of quantum gravity proposal such as string theory, noncommutative geometry, loop quantum gravity and doubly special relativity, all predict the existence of a minimum observable length and/or a maximal momentum which modify the standard Heisenberg uncertainty principle. In this paper, we study the effects of minimal length and maximal momentum on the entropic force law formulated recently by E. Verlinde.

Topology change in classical and quantum gravity

Abstract: In these two lectures I describe the difficulties one encounters when trying to construct a framework in which to describe topology change in classical general relativity where one sticks to the assumption of an everywhere non-singular Lorentzian metric and how these difficulties can be circumvented in the Euclidean approach to quantum gravity.

A Lorentzian Quantum Geometry

Abstract: We propose a formulation of a Lorentzian quantum geometry based on the framework of causal fermion systems. After giving the general definition of causal fermion systems, we deduce space-time as a topological space with an underlying causal structure. Restricting attention to systems of spin dimension two, we derive the objects of our quantum geometry: the spin space, the tangent space endowed with a Lorentzian metric, connection and curvature. In order to get the correspondence to differential geometry, we construct examples of causal fermion systems by regularizing Dirac sea configurations in Minkowski space and on a globally hyperbolic Lorentzian manifold. When removing the regularization, the objects of our quantum geometry reduce precisely to the common objects of Lorentzian spin geometry, up to higher order curvature corrections.

Schramm-Loewner evolution and Liouville quantum gravity.

Abstract: We show that when two boundary arcs of a Liouville quantum gravity random surface are conformally welded to each other (in a boundary length-preserving way) the resulting interface is a random curve called the Schramm-Loewner evolution. We also develop a theory of quantum fractal measures (consistent with the Knizhnik-Polyakov-Zamolochikov relation) and analyze their evolution under conformal welding maps related to Schramm-Loewner evolution. As an application, we construct quantum length and boundary intersection measures on the Schramm-Loewner evolution curve itself.

Non-commutative geometry and matrix models

Abstract: These notes provide an introduction to the noncommutative matrix geometry which arises within matrix models of Yang-Mills type. Starting from basic examples of compact fuzzy spaces, a general notion of embedded noncommutative spaces (branes) is formulated, and their effective Riemannian geometry is elaborated. This class of configurations is preserved under small deformations, and is therefore appropriate for matrix models. A realization of generic 4-dimensional geometries is sketched, and the relation with spectral geometry and with noncommutative gauge theory is explained. In a second part, dynamical aspects of these matrix geometries are considered. The one-loop effective action for the maximally supersymmetric IKKT or IIB matrix model is discussed, which is well-behaved on 4-dimensional branes.

When do measures on the space of connections support the triad operators of loop quantum gravity

Abstract: In this work we investigate the question under what conditions Hilbert spaces that are induced by measures on the space of generalized connections carry a representation of certain non-Abelian analogues of the electric flux. We give the problem a precise mathematical formulation and start its investigation. For the technically simple case of U(1) as gauge group, we establish a number of “no-go theorems” asserting that for certain classes of measures, the flux operators can not be represented on the corresponding Hilbert spaces. The flux-observables we consider, play an important role in loop quantum gravity since they can be defined without recurse to a background geometry and they might also be of interest in the general context of quantization of non-Abelian gauge theories.

The quantum divided basins: A new class of quantum subsystems

Abstract: The rigorous theory of the quantum divided basins (QDB), the quantum subsystems emerging from the net zero-flux equation, is considered in this article. This framework, the quantum theory of proper open subsystems, is derived from the extension of the quantum theory of atoms in molecules to encompass the new class of quantum subsystems. It is demonstrated that the regional hypervirial theorem and the associated regional observables as well as the subsystem variational procedure are all expressible for the QDB. The history of QDB is briefly reviewed and the bundles, which were introduced by other researchers, are offered as typical examples whereas new examples of QDB (not yet mentioned in literature) are also presented. Based on some model systems as well as the nitrogen molecule, the regional properties and the morphologies of typical QDB are scrutinized. It is also demonstrated that the QDB may be used to study the fine structure of the electron localization and delocalization. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011

Absence of anomalous couplings in the quantum theory of constrained electrically charged particles

Abstract: The experimental progress in synthesizing low-dimensional nanostructures where carriers are confined to bent surfaces has boosted the interest in the theory of quantum mechanics on curved two-dimensional manifolds. It was recently asserted that constrained electrically charged particles couple to a term linear in ${A}_{3}M$, where ${A}_{3}$ is the transversal component of the electromagnetic vector potential and $M$ is the surface mean curvature, thereby making a dimensional reduction procedure impracticable in the presence of fields. Here we resolve this apparent paradox by providing a consistent general framework of the thin-wall quantization procedure. We also show that the separability of the equation of motions is not endangered by the particular choice of the constraint imposed on the transversal fluctuations of the wave function, which renders the thin-wall quantization procedure well-founded. It can be applied without restrictions.

Background-independent condensed matter models for quantum gravity

Abstract: A number of recent proposals on a quantum theory of gravity are based on the idea that spacetime geometry and gravity are derivative concepts and only apply at an approximate level. There are two fundamental challenges to any such approach. At the conceptual level, there is a clash between the 'timelessness' of general relativity and emergence. Secondly, the lack of a fundamental spacetime renders difficult the straightforward application of well-known methods of statistical physics to the problem. We recently initiated a study of such problems using spin systems based on the evolution of quantum networks with no a priori geometric notions as models for emergent geometry and gravity. In this paper, we review two such models. The first model is a model of emergent (flat) space and matter, and we show how to use methods from quantum information theory to derive features such as the speed of light from a non-geometric quantum system. The second model exhibits interacting matter and geometry, with the geometry defined by the behavior of matter. This model has primitive notions of gravitational attraction that we illustrate with a toy black hole, and exhibits entanglement between matter and geometry and thermalization of the quantum geometry.

Hausdorff dimension of a particle path in a quantum manifold

Abstract: After recalling the concept of the Hausdorff dimension, we study the fractal properties of a quantum particle path. As a novelty we consider the possibility for the space where the particle propagates to be endowed with a quantum-gravity-induced minimal length. We show that the Hausdorff dimension accounts for both the quantum mechanics uncertainty and manifold fluctuations. In addition the presence of a minimal length breaks the self-similarity property of the erratic path of the quantum particle. Finally we establish a universal property of the Hausdorff dimension as well as the spectral dimension: They both depend on the amount of resolution loss which affects both the path and the manifold when quantum gravity fluctuations occur.

Pseudo-Hermitian quantum mechanics

Abstract: In these lectures, we will describe a systematic procedure for constructing an inner product in a pseudo-Hermitian quantum mechanical system.

Quantum phase transition in Bose-Fermi mixtures

Abstract: We study a quantum Bose-Fermi mixture near a broad Feshbach resonance at zero temperature. Within a quantum field theoretical model, a two-step Gaussian approximation allows us to capture the main features of the quantum phase diagram. We show that a repulsive boson-boson interaction is necessary for thermodynamic stability. The quantum phase diagram is mapped in chemical-potential and density space, and both first- and second-order quantum phase transitions are found. We discuss typical characteristics of the first-order transition, such as hysteresis or a droplet formation of the condensate, which may be searched for experimentally.