Reply to ``Comment on Model-dependence of Shapiro time delay and the `speed of gravity/speed of light' controversy''

To determine whether the Shapiro time delay of light passing near a moving object depends on the ``speed of gravity'' or the ``speed of light,'' one must analyze observations in a bimetric framework in which these two speeds can be different. In a recent comment (gr-qc/0510048), Kopeikin has argued that such a computation -- described in gr-qc/0403060 -- missed a hidden dependence on the speed of gravity. By analyzing the observables in the relevant bimetric model, I show that this claim is incorrect, and that the conclusions of gr-qc/0403060 stand.Comment: 3 page reply to gr-qc/051004

The (2+1)-Dimensional Black Hole

I review the classical and quantum properties of the (2+1)-dimensional black hole of Ba{\~n}ados, Teitelboim, and Zanelli. This solution of the Einstein field equations in three spacetime dimensions shares many of the characteristics of the Kerr black hole: it has an event horizon, an inner horizon, and an ergosphere; it occurs as an endpoint of gravitational collapse; it exhibits mass inflation; and it has a nonvanishing Hawking temperature and interesting thermodynamic properties. At the same time, its structure is simple enough to allow a number of exact computations, particularly in the quantum realm, that are impractical in 3+1 dimensions.Comment: LaTeX, 34 pages, 4 figures in separate fil

(2+1)-Dimensional Chern-Simons Gravity as a Dirac Square Root

For (2+1)-dimensional spacetimes with the spatial topology of a torus, the transformation between the Chern-Simons and ADM versions of quantum gravity is constructed explicitly, and the wave functions are compared. It is shown that Chern-Simons wave functions correspond to modular forms of weight 1/2, that is, spinors on the ADM moduli space, and that their evolution (in York's ``extrinsic time'' variable) is described by a Dirac equation. (This version replaces paper 9109006, which was garbled by my mailer.)Comment: 11 page

Statistical Mechanics and Black Hole Entropy

I review a new (and still tentative) approach to black hole thermodynamics that seeks to explain black hole entropy in terms of microscopic quantum gravitational boundary states induced on the black hole horizon.Comment: 10 pages, one figure in separate (uuencoded, compressed) tar file; factor of 2 corrected in eqn. (2.8

Is Quantum Gravity Necessary?

In view of the enormous difficulties we seem to face in quantizing general relativity, we should perhaps consider the possibility that gravity is a fundamentally classical interaction. Theoretical arguments against such mixed classical-quantum models are strong, but not conclusive, and the question is ultimately one for experiment. I review some work in progress on the possibility of experimental tests, exploiting the nonlinearity of the classical-quantum coupling, that could help settle this question.Comment: based on a talk given at Peyresq Physics 11, to appear in Class. Quant. Gra

Hiding the cosmological constant

Perhaps standard effective field theory arguments are right, and vacuum fluctuations really do generate a huge cosmological constant. I show that if one does not assume homogeneity and an arrow of time at the Planck scale, a very large class of general relativistic initial data exhibit expansions, shears, and curvatures that are enormous at small scales, but quickly average to zero macroscopically. Subsequent evolution is more complex, but I argue that quantum fluctuations may preserve these properties. The resulting picture is a version of Wheeler's `spacetime foam,' in which the cosmological constant produces high curvature at the Planck scale but is nearly invisible at observable scales.Comment: 9+1 pages; v2: better discussion of evolution,m new references, some rewriting for clarity; v3: even better discussion of evolution, added references, minor editin