8,363 research outputs found
A critical look at strings
This is an invited contribution to the Special Issue of "Foundations of
Physics" titled "Forty Years Of String Theory: Reflecting On the Foundations".
I have been asked to assess string theory as an outsider, and to compare it
with the theory, methods, and expectations in my own field.Comment: 7 page
Multiple-event probability in general-relativistic quantum mechanics
We discuss the definition of quantum probability in the context of "timeless"
general--relativistic quantum mechanics. In particular, we study the
probability of sequences of events, or multi-event probability. In conventional
quantum mechanics this can be obtained by means of the ``wave function
collapse" algorithm. We first point out certain difficulties of some natural
definitions of multi-event probability, including the conditional probability
widely considered in the literature. We then observe that multi-event
probability can be reduced to single-event probability, by taking into account
the quantum nature of the measuring apparatus. In fact, by exploiting the
von-Neumann freedom of moving the quantum classical boundary, one can always
trade a sequence of non-commuting quantum measurements at different times, with
an ensemble of simultaneous commuting measurements on the joint
system+apparatus system. This observation permits a formulation of quantum
theory based only on single-event probability, where the results of the "wave
function collapse" algorithm can nevertheless be recovered. The discussion
bears also on the nature of the quantum collapse
Quantum Theory from Quantum Gravity
We provide a mechanism by which, from a background independent model with no
quantum mechanics, quantum theory arises in the same limit in which spatial
properties appear. Starting with an arbitrary abstract graph as the microscopic
model of spacetime, our ansatz is that the microscopic dynamics can be chosen
so that 1) the model has a low low energy limit which reproduces the
non-relativistic classical dynamics of a system of N particles in flat
spacetime, 2) there is a minimum length, and 3) some of the particles are in a
thermal bath or otherwise evolve stochastically. We then construct simple
functions of the degrees of freedom of the theory and show that their
probability distributions evolve according to the Schroedinger equation. The
non-local hidden variables required to satisfy the conditions of Bell's theorem
are the links in the fundamental graph that connect nodes adjacent in the graph
but distant in the approximate metric of the low energy limit. In the presence
of these links, distant stochastic fluctuations are transferred into universal
quantum fluctuations.Comment: 17 pages, 2 eps figure
A semiclassical tetrahedron
We construct a macroscopic semiclassical state state for a quantum
tetrahedron. The expectation values of the geometrical operators representing
the volume, areas and dihedral angles are peaked around assigned classical
values, with vanishing relative uncertainties.Comment: 10 pages; v2 revised versio
The physical hamiltonian in nonperturbative quantum gravity
A quantum hamiltonian which evolves the gravitational field according to time
as measured by constant surfaces of a scalar field is defined through a
regularization procedure based on the loop representation, and is shown to be
finite and diffeomorphism invariant. The problem of constructing this
hamiltonian is reduced to a combinatorial and algebraic problem which involves
the rearrangements of lines through the vertices of arbitrary graphs. This
procedure also provides a construction of the hamiltonian constraint as a
finite operator on the space of diffeomorphism invariant states as well as a
construction of the operator corresponding to the spatial volume of the
universe.Comment: Latex, 11 pages, no figures, CGPG/93/
Hybrid mean field and real space model for vacancy diffusion-mediated annealing of radiation defects
In a fusion or advanced fission reactor, high energy neutrons induce the
formation of extended defect clusters in structural component materials,
degrading their properties over time. Such damage can be partially recovered
via a thermal annealing treatment. Therefore, for the design and operation of
fusion and advanced fission nuclear energy systems it is critical to estimate
and predict the annealing timescales for arbitrary configurations of defect
clusters. In our earlier paper [I. Rovelli, S. L. Dudarev, and A. P. Sutton, J.
Mech. Phys. Solids 103, 121 (2017)] we extended the Green function formulation
by Gu, Xiang et al. [Y. Gu, Y. Xiang, S. S. Quek, and D. J. Srolovitz, J. Mech.
Phys. Solids 83, 319 (2015)] for the climb of curved dislocations, to include
the evaporation and growth of cavities and vacancy clusters, and take into
account the effect of free surfaces. In this work, we further develop this
model to include the effect of radiation defects that are below the
experimental detection limit, via a mean field approach coupled with an
explicit treatment of the evolution of discrete defect clusters distributed in
real space. We show that randomly distributed small defects screen diffusive
interactions between larger discrete clusters. The evolution of the coupled
system is modelled self-consistently. We also simulate the evolution of defects
in an infinite laterally extended thin film, using the Ewald summation of
screened Yukawa-type diffusive propagators
Modifications in the Spectrum of Primordial Gravitational Waves Induced by Instantonic Fluctuations
Vacuum to vacuum instantonic transitions modify the power spectrum of
primordial gravitational waves. We evaluate the new form of the power spectrum
for ordinary gravity as well as the parity violation induced in the spectrum by
a modification of General Relativity known as Holst term and we outline the
possible experimental consequences.Comment: V1: 8 pages. V2: 8 pages, some points clarified, typos corrected,
some references added, final result unchanged. V3: 8 pages, title changed,
presentation improved, discussion of phenomenological consequences added,
comments very welcome. V4: Discussion further improved, comments very very
welcom
The Modular Group, Operator Ordering, and Time in (2+1)-Dimensional Gravity
A choice of time-slicing in classical general relativity permits the
construction of time-dependent wave functions in the ``frozen time''
Chern-Simons formulation of -dimensional quantum gravity. Because of
operator ordering ambiguities, however, these wave functions are not unique. It
is shown that when space has the topology of a torus, suitable operator
orderings give rise to wave functions that transform under the modular group as
automorphic functions of arbitrary weights, with dynamics determined by the
corresponding Maass Laplacians on moduli space.Comment: 8 pages, LaTe
On the geometry of loop quantum gravity on a graph
We discuss the meaning of geometrical constructions associated to loop
quantum gravity states on a graph. In particular, we discuss the "twisted
geometries" and derive a simple relation between these and Regge geometries.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. v2: some typos corrected, references update
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