166,157 research outputs found
Towards A Background Independent Quantum Gravity
We recapitulate the scheme of emergent gravity to highlight how a background
independent quantum gravity can be defined by quantizing spacetime itself.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of 7th International Conference
"Quantum Theory and Symmetries" (QTS-7) in Prague, Czech Republic, August,
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Emergent Geometry and Quantum Gravity
We explain how quantum gravity can be defined by quantizing spacetime itself.
A pinpoint is that the gravitational constant G = L_P^2 whose physical
dimension is of (length)^2 in natural unit introduces a symplectic structure of
spacetime which causes a noncommutative spacetime at the Planck scale L_P. The
symplectic structure of spacetime M leads to an isomorphism between symplectic
geometry (M, \omega) and Riemannian geometry (M, g) where the deformations of
symplectic structure \omega in terms of electromagnetic fields F=dA are
transformed into those of Riemannian metric g. This approach for quantum
gravity allows a background independent formulation where spacetime as well as
matter fields is equally emergent from a universal vacuum of quantum gravity
which is thus dubbed as the quantum equivalence principle.Comment: Invited Review for Mod. Phys. Lett. A, 17 page
Phonons in a Nanoparticle Mechanically Coupled to a Substrate
The discrete nature of the vibrational modes of an isolated nanometer-scale
solid dramatically modifies its low-energy electron and phonon dynamics from
that of a bulk crystal. However, nanocrystals are usually coupled--even if only
weakly--to an environment consisting of other nanocrystals, a support matrix,
or a solid substrate, and this environmental interaction will modify the
vibrational properties at low frequencies. In this paper we investigate the
modification of the vibrational modes of an insulating spherical nanoparticle
caused by a weak {\it mechanical} coupling to a semi-infinite substrate. The
phonons of the bulk substrate act as a bath of harmonic oscillators, and the
coupling to this reservoir shifts and broadens the nanoparticle's modes. The
vibrational density of states in the nanoparticle is obtained by solving the
Dyson equation for the phonon propagator, and we show that environmental
interaction is especially important at low frequencies. As a probe of the
modified phonon spectrum, we consider nonradiative energy relaxation of a
localized electronic impurity state in the nanoparticle, for which good
agreement with experiment is found.Comment: 10 pages, Revte
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