Quantum Gravity

In this talk, I intend to give a pedagogical, nonetheless biased, introduction to String Cosmology. After briefly reviewing the Lambda-CDM model and motivating inflation, we will remind ourselves that early universe cosmology remains singular and waiting for alternatives. That will be our cue to consider string theory to define our gravity sector and string thermodynamics to define our matter sector. We will learn how that doesn't work unless we consider more string corrections (in fact, an infinity of them!). Once we are stringy enough, we will be able to build a full cosmological model that is non-singular and already poses itself as an alternative to inflation at the background level.

Zoom Link: https://pitp.zoom.us/j/98491655811?pwd=ZzArNjFVMmZIdE1STjd2TVNWSlZtZz09

I’ll review a new, simpler explanation for the large scale geometry of spacetime, presented recently by Latham Boyle and me in arXiv:2201.07279. The basic ingredients are elementary and well-known, namely Einstein’s theory of gravity and Hawking’s method of computing gravitational entropy. The new twist is provided by the boundary conditions we proposed for big bang-type singularities, respecting CPT symmetry and analyticity at the bang with finite Weyl curvature. These boundary conditions allow gravitational instantons for universes with positive Lambda, massless (conformal) radiation and positive or negative space curvature. Using these new instantons, we are able to infer the gravitational entropy for a complete set of quasi-realistic, four-dimensional cosmologies. If the total entropy in radiation exceeds that of Einstein’s static universe, the gravitational entropy exceeds the de Sitter entropy. As the total entropy in radiation is increased further,  the most probable large-scale geometry for the universe becomes increasingly flat, homogeneous and isotropic. I’ll also briefly summarize recent progress towards elaborating this picture into a fully predictive cosmological theory.

Zoom Link: https://pitp.zoom.us/j/95474226765?pwd=clN5UHBnSTFiSVAzM0p3dEdDMzV2Zz09

The analogue gravity framework uses condensed matter systems to simulate phenomena characteristics of quantum field theory in curved spacetimes (e.g. cosmological particle production or black hole evaporation). In this seminar, I will review the state of this field and explore its extension towards the simulation of the emergent spacetime paradigm. In doing so I will discuss three lessons that we can draw from this framework about long standing puzzles in black hole thermodynamics and cosmology.

Zoom Link: https://pitp.zoom.us/j/98714282554?pwd=QnAxRkk4SVg0TnVneDFySFJYTDJoQT09

In this talk, we first introduce the basic idea of asymptotic safety and discuss its application to quantum gravity. We compute non-perturbative flow equations for the couplings of quantum gravity in fourth order of a derivative expansion. It is shown that the beta functions admit two possible fixed points: One is the asymptotically safe fixed point, and the other is the asymptotically free one. The corresponding critical exponents to these fixed points are evaluated.

Next, we argue that asymptotically safe gravity could be an effective theory emerging from the spontaneous symmetry breaking in an ultraviolet (UV) theory. We consider a UV theory invariant under SO(4) local Lorentz symmetry and diffeomorphism. In particular, we impose the degenerate limit (zero eigenvalues of vierbein) on the action and then show that only spinor fields can be dynamical. We will discuss prospects whether or not this UV theory could be a fundamental theory underlying asymptotically safe gravity.

Zoom Link: https://pitp.zoom.us/j/94422371986?pwd=a25pS3cyUmJkNWJHL3hic1NhNlozQT09

By considering the photon-graviton scattering amplitude at low-energy including loops from the Standard Model, I will argue how we can infer constraints on the Regge behaviour of the gravitational scattering amplitude. I will also comment on implications to other gauge fields in four and higher dimensions and application to the Weak Gravity Conjecture and connections with causality considerations.

Zoom Link: https://pitp.zoom.us/j/91414100213?pwd=Z3g5SmRPb2xjUXEweGtjUC83WCtKdz09

We discuss the minimal coupling of gauge fields to the dual graph lattice of Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT) as a preliminary step towards the investigation of more realistic systems of gravity coupled to bosonic and fermionic matter. We first introduce the CDT approach and how the gravity and gauge fields are discretized, for general dimensions and gauge groups, focusing on some of the algorithmic complications which arise. Next, we discuss some results from 2D simulations of CDT coupled to U(1) and SU(2) gauge groups, where we studied both gravity and gauge-related observables and the ones related to gauge fields, comparing them to analogous simulations in the flat case.

In this talk, I will explain the construction of a (1+1) spacetime with a wormhole and its conversion into a time-machine spacetime. Then, I will describe a massless scalar quantum field theory in such spacetime. I focus in comparing this quantization of the field in the time-machine spacetime with the quantization on the two-dimensional Einstein cylinder, the emergence of a zero mode and its regularization.

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/94856731951?pwd=MnFNZjlkUHVVWkRRQTIxR0o0TDFnUT09

I will present an argument that if a theory of quantum gravity is physically discrete at the Planck scale and the theory recovers General Relativity as an approximation, then, at the current stage of our knowledge, causal sets must arise within the theory, even if they are not its basis. I will argue in particular that an apparent alternative to causal sets, viz. a certain sort of discrete Lorentzian simplicial complex, cannot recover General Relativistic spacetimes in the appropriately unique way. For it cannot discriminate between Minkowski spacetime and a spacetime with a certain sort of gravitational wave burst.

Zoom Link: https://pitp.zoom.us/j/96897602807?pwd=VkJ3VTAwYjhaTnJ3Z2ZVclZFYXErZz09

Cosmic inflation is an important paradigm of the early Universe which is so far developed in two equivalent ways, either by geometrical modification of Einstein's general relativity (GR) or by introducing new forms of matter beyond the standard model of particle physics. Starobinsky's R+R^2 inflation based on a geometric modification of GR is one of the most observationally favorable models of cosmic inflation based on a geometric modification of GR. In this talk, I will discuss in detail the fundamental motivations for Starobinsky inflation and present how certain logical steps in the view of its UV completion lead to the emergence of a gravity theory that is non-local in nature. Then I will establish how one can perform studies of the early Universe in the context of non-local gravity and what are the observational consequences in the scope of future CMB and gravitational waves. I will discuss in detail how non-local R^2-like inflation can be observationally distinguishable from the local effective field theories of inflation. 

We study D dimensional pure Einstein gravity theory in a region of spacetime bounded by a generic null boundary. We show besides the graviton modes propagating in the bulk, the system is described by boundary degrees of freedom labeled by D surface charges associated with nontrivial diffeomorphisms at the boundary. We establish that the system admits a natural thermodynamical description. Using standard surface charge analysis and covariant phase space method, we formulate  laws of null surface thermodynamics which are local equations over an arbitrary null surface. This thermodynamical system is generally an open system and can be closed only when there is no flux of gravitons through the null surface. Our analysis  extends the usual black hole thermodynamics to a universal feature of any area element on a generic null surface in a generic diffeomorphism invariant theory of gravity. 

Zoom Link: https://pitp.zoom.us/j/91590041045?pwd=UXpWY3JEd0QwK2hXanBzSkdPRC94UT09

In this talk, I will consider quantum effects on some specific black hole solutions and take into account their gravitational backreaction. In particular, I will describe the holographic construction of the quantum BTZ black hole (quBTZ) from an exact four-dimensional bulk solution.  I will present some of the thermodynamic properties of these black holes, focus on the generalized first law and analyze the different complexity proposals for the quBTZ. Our results indicate that Action Complexity fails to account for the additional quantum contributions and does not lead to the correct classical limit. On the other hand, the Volume Complexity admits a consistent quantum expansion and agrees with known limits.

We present a model of quantum gravity in which dimension, topology and geometry of spacetime are collective dynamical variables that describe the pattern of entanglement of underlying quantum matter. As spacetimes with arbitrary dimensions can emerge, the gauge symmetry is generalized to a group that includes diffeomorphisms in general dimensions. The gauge symmetry obeys a first-class constraint operator algebra, and is reduced to a generalized hypersurface deformation algebra in states that exhibit classical spacetimes. In the semi-classical limit, we find a saddle-point solution that describes a series of (3+1)-dimensional de Sitter-like spacetimes with the Lorentzian signature bridged by Euclidean spaces in between.