The geometrical formulation of gravity is not unique and can be set up in a variety of spacetimes. Even though the gravitational sector enjoys this freedom of different geometrical interpretations, consistent matter couplings have to be assured for a steady foundation of gravity. In generalised geometries, further ambiguities arise in the matter couplings unless the minimal coupling principle (MCP) is adopted that is compatible with the principles of relativity, universality and inertia. In this work, MCP is applied to all Standard Model gauge fields and matter fields in a completely general (linear) affine geometry. This is also discussed from an effective field theory perspective. It is found that the presence of torsion generically leads to theoretical problems. However, symmetric teleparallelism, wherein the affine geometry is integrable and torsion-free, is consistent with MCP. The generalised Bianchi identity is derived and shown to determine the dynamics of the connection in a unified fashion. Also, the parallel transport with respect to a teleparallel connection is shown to be free of second clock effects.
I show that in a general, evolving spacetime, the rate of change of gravitational momentum is related to the difference between the number of degrees of freedom in the bulk and the boundary of a region. This expresses the gravitational field equation in the thermodynamic language which is the natural description, if gravity is an emergent phenomenon. In all static spacetimes, the number of degrees of freedom in the boundary is equal to the number of degrees of freedom in the bulk; i.e., these spacetimes maintain holographic equipartition. It is the departure from holographic equipartition that…
Spacetime with general linear vector distortion is introduced. Thus, the torsion and the nonmetricity of the affine connection are assumed to be proportional to a vector field (and not its derivatives). The resulting two-parameter family of non-Riemannian geometries generalises the conformal Weyl geometry and some other interesting special cases. Taking into account the leading order quadratic curvature correction to the Einstein-Hilbert action results uniquely in the one-parameter extension of the Starobinsky inflation known as the alpha-attractor. The most general quadratic curvature action …
While it is generally agreed that the nature of spacetime must be drastically different at the Planck scale, it has been a common practice to assume that spacetime is endowed with a full pseudo-Riemannian geometry regardless of the physical fields present or the length scale at which the geometry is probed, and to adopt this assumption in theories of cosmology, particle physics, quantum gravity, etc. Following Einstein's view that the mathematical description of spacetime ought to be physically motivated, we initiate a discussion on the validity of this assumption, and propose that the full ps…
We discuss the problem of determining the spacetime structure. We show that when we are using only topological methods the spacetime can be modelled as an R- or Q-compact space although the R-compact spaces seem to be more appropriate. Demanding the existence of a differential structure substantially narrows the choice of possible models. The determination of the differential structure may be difficult if it is not unique. By using the noncommutative geometry construction of the standard model we show that fundamental interactions determine the spacetime in the class of R-compact spaces. Fermi…
This paper scrutinises the tenability of a strict conceptual distinction between space(time) and matter via the lens of the debate between modified gravity and dark matter. In particular, we consider Berezhiani and Khoury's novel 'superfluid dark matter theory' (SFDM) as a case study. Two families of criteria for being matter and being spacetime, respectively, are extracted from the literature. Evaluation of the new scalar field postulated by SFDM according to these criteria reveals that it is as much (dark) matter as anything could possibly be, but also$-$below the critical temperature for su…
One of the deepest insights from the general theory of relativity is the relational nature of spacetime. While it is a generally agreed on that the nature of spacetime must be drastically different at the Planck scale, it has been a common practice to assume a full pseudo-Riemannian geometry of spacetime no matter what the physical fields present are, and to apply such geometry to cosmology. In the spirit of preserving the relational description of spacetime, we initiate a discussion on the applicability of general relativity all the way to Planck scale, and propose the possibility that the fu…
We present the geometry of spacetimes that are tangentially approximated by de Sitter spaces whose cosmological constants vary over spacetime. Cartan geometry provides one with the tools to describe manifolds that reduce to a homogeneous Klein space at the infinitesimal level. We consider a Cartan geometry in which the underlying Klein space is at each point a de Sitter space, for which the combined set of pseudo-radii forms a nonconstant function on spacetime. We show that the torsion of such a geometry receives a contribution that is not present for a cosmological constant. The structure gro…
We propose entanglement entropy as a probe of the architecture of spacetime in quantum gravity. We argue that the leading contribution to this entropy satisfies an area law for any sufficiently large region in a smooth spacetime, which, in fact, is given by the Bekenstein-Hawking formula. This conjecture is supported by various lines of evidence from perturbative quantum gravity, simplified models of induced gravity and loop quantum gravity, as well as the AdS/CFT correspondence.
Classical geometry of de Sitter spacetime is reviewed in arbitrary dimensions. Topics include coordinate systems, geodesic motions, and Penrose diagrams with detailed calculations.
There is a by now well-established isomorphism between stationary 4-dimensional spacetimes and 3-dimensional purely spatial Randers geometries - these Randers geometries being a particular case of the more general class of 3-dimensional Finsler geometries. We point out that in stably causal spacetimes, by using the (time-dependent) ADM decomposition, this result can be extended to general non-stationary spacetimes - the causal structure (conformal structure) of the full spacetime is completely encoded in a parameterized (time-dependent) class of Randers spaces, which can then be used to define…
Convexity and convex functions play an important role in theoretical physics. To initiate a study of the possible uses of convex functions in General Relativity, we discuss the consequences of a spacetime $(M,g_{μν})$ or an initial data set $(Σ, h_{ij}, K_{ij})$ admitting a suitably defined convex function. We show how the existence of a convex function on a spacetime places restrictions on the properties of the spacetime geometry.
In the framework of nonassociative geometry (hep-th/0003238) a unified description of continuum and discrete spacetime is proposed. In our approach at the Planck scales the spacetime is described as a so-called "diodular discrete structure" which at large spacetime scales `looks like' a differentiable manifold. After a brief review of foundations of nonassociative geometry,we discuss the nonassociative smooth and discrete de Sitter spacetimes.
Recently the $\text{SU}(2)$ spin-network states in loop quantum gravity is generalized to those of the corresponding affine Lie algebra. We show that if one literally starts from the full $\text{SL}(2,\mathbb{C})$ group, this procedure naturally leads to the Bekenstein-Hawking formula of the entanglement entropy for any macroscopic spacetime region. This suggests that a smooth spacetime geometry could be recovered in such a way, as conjectured by Bianchi and Myers. Some comparison with Xiao-Gang Wen's string-net picture of gauge theory is made.
Using only the principle of relativity and Euclidean geometry we show in this pedagogical article that the square of proper time or length in a two-dimensional spacetime diagram is proportional to the Euclidean area of the corresponding causal domain. We use this relation to derive the Minkowski line element by two geometric proofs of the "spacetime Pythagoras theorem".
Traditional geometry employs idealized concepts like that of a point or a curve, the operational definition of which relies on the availability of classical point particles as probes. Real, physical objects are quantum in nature though, leading us to consider the implications of using realistic probes in defining an effective spacetime geometry. As an example, we consider de Sitter spacetime and employ the centroid of various composite probes to obtain its effective sectional curvature, which is found to depend on the probe's internal energy, spatial extension, and spin. Possible refinements o…
In (Phys. Rev. D 62, 081501, 2000) we proposed a unified approach to description of continuous and discrete spacetime based on nonassociative geometry and described nonassociative smooth and discrete de Sitter models. In our paper we give the description of nonassociative Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime.
The quantum fluctuations of the geodesic deviation equation in a flat background spacetime are discussed. We calculate the resulting mean squared fluctuations in the relative velocity and separation of test particles. The effect of these quantum fluctuations of the spacetime geometry is given in terms of the Riemann tensor correlation function. Three different sources of the Riemann tensor fluctuations are considered: a thermal bath of gravitons, gravitons in a squeezed state, and the graviton vacuum state.
We make biframe and quaternion extensions on the noncommutative geometry, and construct the biframe spacetime for the unification of gravity and quantum field theory. The extended geometry distinguishes between the ordinary spacetime based on the frame bundle and an extra non-coordinate spacetime based on the biframe bundle constructed by our extensions. The ordinary spacetime frame is globally flat and plays the role as the spacetime frame in which the fields of the standard model are defined. The non-coordinate frame is locally flat and is the gravity spacetime frame. The field defined in bo…
We examine the picture of emergent geometry arising from a mass-deformed matrix model. Because of the mass-deformation, a vacuum geometry turns out to be a constant curvature spacetime such as d-dimensional sphere and (anti-)de Sitter spaces. We show that the mass-deformed matrix model giving rise to the constant curvature spacetime can be derived from the d-dimensional Snyder algebra. The emergent geometry beautifully confirms all the rationale inferred from the algebraic point of view that the d-dimensional Snyder algebra is equivalent to the Lorentz algebra in (d+1)-dimensional {\it flat} s…
Jacobson theorem (Ref. \cite{jacobson}) shows that Einstein gravity may be understood as a thermodynamical equation of state; a microscopic realization of this result is however lacking. In this paper, we propose that this may be achieved by assuming the spacetime geometry as a macroscopic system, whose thermodynamical behavior is described by a statistical ensemble, whose microscopic components are low-dimensional geometries. We show that this picture is consistent with string theory by proposing a particular model for the microscopic geometry, where the spacetime metric plays the role of an …
We discuss the Schwartz-Meyer second order geometry framework and its relevance to theories of quantum gravity that incorporate a notion of spacetime stochasticity or quantum foam. We illustrate the framework in the context of Nelson's stochastic quantization.
Spacetime geometry is supposed to be measured by identifying the trajectories of free test particles with geodesics. In practice, this cannot be done because, being described by Quantum Mechanics, particles do not follow trajectories. As a first step to study how it is possible to read spacetime geometry with quantum particles, we model these particles with classical extended objects. We propose to represent such extended objects by its covariant center of mass, which generically does not follow a geodesic of the background metric. We present a scheme that allows to extract some of components …
We analyze the limits that quantum mechanics imposes on the accuracy to which $(4+n)$-dimensional spacetime geometry can be measured. Using physics of computation and light sheet concept we derive explicit expressions for quantum fluctuations and explore their cumulative effects for various spacetime foam models.
We describe the Hamilton geometry of the phase space of particles whose motion is characterised by general dispersion relations. In this framework spacetime and momentum space are naturally curved and intertwined, allowing for a simultaneous description of both spacetime curvature and non-trivial momentum space geometry. We consider as explicit examples two models for Planck-scale modified dispersion relations, inspired from the $q$-de Sitter and $κ$-Poincaré quantum groups. In the first case we find the expressions for the momentum and position dependent curvature of spacetime and momentum sp…
We provide a setup by which one can recover the geometry of spacetime from local measurements of quantum particle detectors coupled to a quantum field. Concretely, we show how one can recover the field's correlation function from measurements on the detectors. Then, we are able to recover the invariant spacetime interval from the measurement outcomes, and hence reconstruct a notion of spacetime metric. This suggest that quantum particle detectors are the experimentally accessible devices that could replace the classical 'rulers' and 'clocks' of general relativity.
We briefly review two recently developed extensions of the Lorentzian geometry of spacetime and prove that they are in fact closely related. The first is the concept of observer space, which generalizes the space of Lorentzian observers, i.e., future unit timelike vectors, using Cartan geometry. The second is the concept of Finsler spacetimes, which generalizes the Lorentzian metric of general relativity to an observer-dependent Finsler metric. We show that every Finsler spacetime possesses a well-defined observer space that can naturally be equipped with a Cartan geometry. Conversely, we deri…
We analyze classical and quantum dynamics of a particle in 2d spacetimes with constant curvature which are locally isometric but globally different. We show that global symmetries of spacetime specify the symmetries of physical phase-space and the corresponding quantum theory. To quantize the systems we parametrize the physical phase-space by canonical coordinates. Canonical quantization leads to unitary irreducible representations of $SO_\uparrow (2.1)$ group.
We show that there exists a duality between the local coordinates and the solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation in curved spacetime in the same sense as in the Minkowski spacetime. However, the duality in curved spacetime does not have the same generality as in flat spacetime and it holds only if the system satisfies certain constraints. We derive these constraints and the basic equations of duality and discuss the implications in the quantum theory.
We explore the intimate connection between spacetime geometry and electrodynamics. This link is already implicit in the constitutive relations between the field strengths and excitations, which are an essential part of the axiomatic structure of electromagnetism, clearly formulated via integration theory and differential forms. We briefly review the foundations of electromagnetism based on charge and magnetic flux conservation, the Lorentz force and the constitutive relations which introduce the spacetime metric. We then proceed with the tensor formulation by assuming local, linear, homogeneou…
In this letter, we review a candidate for dark matter, known as O$f$DM, and explain how it relates to spacetime nonlocality. This connection provides a physical interpretation for why O$f$DM exists. Given the state of direct and indirect searches for dark matter, O$f$DM model would be an important candidate to consider, since it predicts all direct searches would fail to detect DM. The model has only one free parameter and in this regard, it is highly predictive. We review a few avenues to test this model.
We present the case for a fundamentally discrete quantum spacetime and for Group Field Theories as a candidate consistent description of it, briefly reviewing the key properties of the GFT formalism. We then argue that the outstanding problem of the emergence of a continuum spacetime and of General Relativity from fundamentally discrete quantum structures should be tackled from a condensed matter perspective and using purely QFT methods, adapted to the GFT context. We outline the picture of continuum spacetime as a condensed phase of a GFT and a research programme aimed at realizing this pictu…
A straightforward explanation of the Young's two-slit experiment of a quantum particle is obtained within the framework of the Noncommutative Geometric associated with El Naschie's Cantorian-Fractal transfinite Spacetime continuum.
We present a cylindrically symmetric, Petrov type D, nonexpanding, shear free and vorticity free solution of Einstein's field equations. The spacetime is asymptotically flat radially and regular everywhere except on the symmetry axis where it possesses a naked curvature singularity. The energy momentum tensor of the spacetime is that for an anisotropic fluid which satisfies the different energy conditions. This spacetime is used to generate a rotating spacetime which admits closed timelike curves and may represent a Cosmic Time Machine.
Bardeen's 1968 idea of a regular black hole spacetime was revived by Hayward in 2006 through the construction of a new example of such a geometry. Later it was realised by Neves and Saa, that a wider, two-parameter class exists, with Bardeen and Hayward spacetimes as special cases. In this article, we revisit and generalise the Hayward spacetime by applying the Damour-Solodukhin (DS) prescription. Recalling the DS suggestion of a deformed Schwarzschild spacetime where $g_{tt} = -\left (1-\frac{2M_1}{r}\right )$, $g_{rr} = \left (1-\frac{2M_2}{r}\right )^{-1}$ and $M_1\neq M_2$, we propose a si…
We study the effect of noncommutative spacetime geometry on one-loop corrections to the primordial curvature two-point function, arising from various forms of massless spectator matter fields interacting gravitationally with the inflaton. After deforming the algebra of functions on the inflationary background to a spatially noncommutative one, we find that this induces momentum-dependent corrections to one-loop terms which imply that the vacuum fluctuation of the energy-momentum tensor sources that of the curvature fluctuation even for distances beyond horizon scales. The one-loop corrections …
In recent years, Planck-scale modifications to particles' dispersion relation have been deeply studied for the possibility to formulate some phenomenology of Planckian effects in astrophysical and cosmological frameworks. There are some indications [arXiv:gr-qc/0611024] that Finsler geometry can provide some generalization of Riemannian geometry which may allow to account for non-trivial (Planckian) structure of relativistic particles' configuration space. We investigate the possibility to formalize Planck-scale deformations to relativistic models in curved spacetime, within the framework of F…
We discuss the relevance of quantum gravity to the frontier questions in high energy phenomenology: the problems of dark matter, dark energy, and vacuum selection as well as the problems of emergent spacetime and wormholes. Dark matter and dark energy phenomenology, and the problem of vacuum selection are discussed within the context of string theory as a model of quantum gravity. Emergent spacetime and wormholes are discussed in a more general context of effective theories of quantum gravity.
We give a set of local geometric conditions on a spacetime metric which are necessary and sufficient for it to be a null electrovacuum, that is, the metric is part of a solution to the Einstein-Maxwell equations with a null electromagnetic field. These conditions are restrictions on a null congruence canonically constructed from the spacetime metric, and can involve up to five derivatives of the metric. The null electrovacuum conditions are counterparts of the Rainich conditions, which geometrically characterize non-null electrovacua. Given a spacetime satisfying the conditions for a null elec…
Over the last decade a growing number of quantum-gravity researchers has been looking for opportunities for the first ever experimental evidence of a Planck-length quantum property of spacetime. These studies are usually based on the analysis of some candidate indirect implications of spacetime quantization, such as a possible curvature of momentum space. Some recent proposals have raised hope that we might also gain direct experimental access to quantum properties of spacetime, by finding evidence of limitations to the measurability of the center-of-mass coordinates of some macroscopic bodies…
Particle Physics in Curved Spacetime and Dark Matter
Università di Salerno（萨莱诺大学）；INFN – Gruppo Collegato di Salerno（意大利国家核物理研究所萨莱诺联合小组）；Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II（那不勒斯费德里科二世大学）；Scuola Superiore Meridionale（南方高等学院）；University of Camerino（卡梅里诺大学）
Spherically, plane, or hyperbolically symmetric spacetimes with an additional hypersurface orthogonal Killing vector are often called ``static'' spacetimes even if they contain regions where the Killing vector is non-timelike. It seems to be widely believed that an energy-momentum tenor for a matter field compatible with these spacetimes in general relativity is of the Hawking-Ellis type I everywhere. We show in arbitrary $n(\ge 3)$ dimensions that, contrary to popular belief, a matter field on a Killing horizon is not necessarily of type I but can be of type II. Such a type-II matter field on…
Undecidability in Spacetime Geometry via the AdS/CFT Correspondence
Jamia Millia Islamia（贾米亚米利亚伊斯兰大学）；Asian School of Business（亚洲商学院）；CNR-Istituto Nazionale di Ottica（意大利国家光学研究所）；INFN, Sezione di Firenze（佛罗伦萨意大利国家核物理研究所）；Canadian Quantum Research Center（加拿大量子研究中心）；The Origins Project Foundation（起源项目基金会）；Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, University of British Columbia Okanagan（不列颠哥伦比亚大学奥肯那根校区欧文K巴伯艺术与理学院）；Durham University（杜伦大学）；Hasselt University（哈瑟尔特大学）
This is a brief, popular-level introduction to holographic entanglement. It was published in the newsletter of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Bangalore.
We propose that spacetime is fundamentally a property of matter, inseparable from it. This leads us to suggest that all properties of matter must be elevated to the same status as that of spacetime in quantum field theories of matter. We suggest a specific method for extending field theories to accomodate this, and point out how this leads to the evolution of fields through channels other than the spacetime channel.
We study the quantization of the curved spacetime created by ultrarelativistic particles at Planckian energies. We consider a minisuperspace model based on the classical shock wave metric generated by these particles, and for which the Wheeler - De Witt equation is solved exactly. The wave function of the geometry is a Bessel function whose argument is the classical action. This allows us to describe not only the semiclassical regime $(S\to\infty),$ but also the strong quantum regime $(S\to0).$ We analyze the interaction with a scalar field $ϕ$ and apply the third quantization formalism to it.…
We consider Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity in $n(\ge 6)$-dimensional Kaluza-Klein spacetime ${\ma M}^{4} \times {\ma K}^{n-4}$, where ${\ma K}^{n-4}$ is the Einstein space with negative curvature. In the case where ${\ma K}^{n-4}$ is the space of negative constant curvature, we have recently obtained a new static black-hole solution (Phys. Rev. D {\bf 74}, 021501(R) (2006), hep-th/0605031) which is a pure gravitational creation including Maxwell field in four-dimensional vacuum spacetime. The solution has been generalized to make it radially radiate null radiation representing gravitational cre…
We give a general and nontechnical review of some aspects of noncommutative geometry as a tool to understand the structure of spacetime. We discuss the motivations for the constructions of a noncommutative geometry, and the passage from commutative to noncommutative spaces. We then give a brief description of Connes approach to the standard model, of the noncommutative geometry of strings and of field theory on noncommutative spaces. We also discuss the role of symmetries and some possible consequences for cosmology.
Classical geometry can be described either in terms of a metric tensor $g_{ab}(x)$ or in terms of the geodesic distance $σ^2(x,x')$. Recent work, however, has shown that the geodesic distance is better suited to describe the quantum structure of spacetime. This is because one can incorporate some of the key quantum effects by replacing $σ^2$ by another function $S[σ^2]$ such that $S[0]=L_0^2$ is non-zero. This allows one to introduce a zero-point-length in the spacetime. I show that the geodesic distance can be an emergent construct, arising in the form of a correlator $S[σ^2(x,y)]=\langle J(x…
This paper pushes back against the Democritean-Newtonian tradition of assuming a strict conceptual dichotomy between spacetime and matter. Our approach proceeds via the more narrow distinction between modified gravity/spacetime (MG) and dark matter (DM). A prequel paper argued that the novel field $Φ$ postulated by Berezhiani and Khoury's 'superfluid dark matter theory' is as much (dark) matter as anything could possibly be, but also$-$below the critical temperature for superfluidity$-$as much (of a modification of) spacetime as anything could possibly be. Here we introduce and critically eval…
A U(1) gauge theory turns, on physically motivated models of Quantum Spacetime, into a U($\infty$) gauge theory, hence free classical electrodynamics is no longer free and neutral fields may have electromagnetic interactions. We discuss the last point for scalar fields, possibly describing dark matter; we have in mind the gravitational collapse of binary systems or future applications to self gravitating Bose-Einstein condensates as possible sources of evidence of quantum gravitational phenomena. The effects so far considered, however, seem too faint to be detectable at present.
Based on lectures delivered at (1) the AMS meeting at USC, Nov. 1992 (2) Conference on Quantum Aspects of Black Holes, ITP, UC- Santa %Barbara, %%June 1993. (3) 25th Summer Institute, Ecole Normale Superieure, % Paris, Aug. 1992. To appear in "Interface Between Mathematics and Physics", Ed. S.-T. Yau. 1--Itroduction to String Theory in Curved Spacetime 2--G/H Coset Conformal Field Theory and String Theory 3--Time, Space and Classification of Non-Compact Cosets 4--Heterotic Strings in Curved Spacetime as gauged WZW Models 5--The Spacetime Manifold and the Geometry 6--Examples in 2D, 3D and 4D
The concept of fixed-area states has proven useful for recent studies of quantum gravity, especially in connection with gravitational holography. We explore the Lorentz-signature spacetime geometry intrinsic to such fixed-area states in this paper. This contrasts with previous treatments which focused instead on Euclidean-signature saddles for path integrals that prepare such states. We analyze general features of fixed-area state geometries and construct explicit examples. The spacetime metrics are real at real times and have no conical singularities. With enough symmetry the classical metric…
We consider the spacetime geometry of a static but otherwise generic black hole (that is, the horizon geometry and topology are not necessarily spherically symmetric). It is demonstrated, by purely geometrical techniques, that the curvature tensors, and the Einstein tensor in particular, exhibit a very high degree of symmetry as the horizon is approached. Consequently, the stress-energy tensor will be highly constrained near any static Killing horizon. More specifically, it is shown that -- at the horizon -- the stress-energy tensor block-diagonalizes into ``transverse'' and ``parallel'' block…
Simply-connected homogeneous spacetimes for kinematical and aristotelian Lie algebras (with space isotropy) have recently been classified in all dimensions. In this paper, we continue the study of these "maximally symmetric" spacetimes by investigating their local geometry. For each such spacetime and relative to exponential coordinates, we calculate the (infinitesimal) action of the kinematical symmetries, paying particular attention to the action of the boosts, showing in almost all cases that they act with generic non-compact orbits. We also calculate the soldering form, the associated viel…
We illustrate the various ways in which the algebraic framework of noncommutative geometry naturally captures the short-distance spacetime properties of string theory. We describe the noncommutative spacetime constructed from a vertex operator algebra and show that its algebraic properties bear a striking resemblence to some structures appearing in M Theory, such as the noncommutative torus. We classify the inner automorphisms of the space and show how they naturally imply the conventional duality symmetries of the quantum geometry of spacetime. We examine the problem of constructing a univers…
