Geodesic distance: a descriptor of geometry \textit{and} correlator of pregeometric density of spacetime events

DOI10.1142/S0217732320300086zbMATH Open1435.83056arXiv1911.02030MaRDI QIDQ5113720FDOQ5113720

Authors:

Publication date: 16 June 2020

Published in: Modern Physics Letters A (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: Classical geometry can be described either in terms of a metric tensor $g_{ab}(x)$ or in terms of the geodesic distance $sigm{a}^2(x,x^{\prime })$. 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 $sigm{a}^2$ by another function $S[sigm{a}^2]$ 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 $S[sigm{a}^2(x,y)]=langleJ(x)J(y)angle$, of a pregeometric variable $J(x)$, which, in turn, can be interpreted as the quantum density of spacetime events. This approach also shows why null surfaces play a special role in the interface of quantum theory and gravity. I describe several technical and conceptual aspects of this construction and discuss some of its implications.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1911.02030

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zbMATH Keywords

geodesic distancepropagatorpath integralnull surfacezero-point-length

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Applications of differential geometry to physics (53Z05) Quantization of the gravitational field (83C45) Path integrals in quantum mechanics (81S40) Differential geometric methods, including holonomy, Berry and Hannay phases, Aharonov-Bohm effect, etc. in quantum theory (81Q70)

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Cited In (5)

• Glimmers of a post-geometric perspective
• Subadditive average distances and quantum promptness
• Probing the Planck scale: the modification of the time evolution operator due to the quantum structure of spacetime
• Gravitational effective action at mesoscopic scales from the quantum microstructure of spacetime
• Discrete time heat kernel and UV modified propagators with dimensional deconstruction

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