Principle of equivalence at Planck scales, QG in locally inertial frames and the zero-point-length of spacetime (Q2226093)

From a specific perspective, the author discusses the question: ``What role does principle of equivalence -- which helped us to choose a FFF [freely falling frame] and eliminate classical-gravity -- play as regards quantum-gravitational effects?'' Since one does not possess a complete theory of Quantum Gravity (QG) or the description of matter fields at microscopic scales, one needs to make working hypotheses to proceed further. Considering quantum gravitational effects in the mesoscopic regime interpolating between the microscopic regime, very close to Planck scale (to be described by a complete theory of QG) and the macroscopic regime, far away from the Planck scale (describable by quantum field theory on a classical, curved, background), the idea is to introduce a so-called zero-point-length as the key feature of an effective quantum geometry, This length causes corrections in the propagator for matter fields. Such an idea has been introduced by DeWitt and the author himself and afterwards explored extensively in the literature. It concerns one feature of the nonlinear interaction of gravity and matter, namely the question of how quantum geometry affects the matter field. The other feature is related to how matter at these scales modifies geometry. To discuss this feature on the same theoretical level, a modified propagator of a massive scalar field is ad hoc introduced, where the modification is to regard the self-gravity of the matter field. While the first (zero-point-length) modification is determined by the gravitational mass, the second is governed by the inertial mass of the matter field. Since consistency demands that these two modifications are the same, it is shown that the equivalence of the two masses, i.e., the validity of the weak Newtonian version of the principle of equivalence ensures this consistency.