Quantum gravity, space-time structure, and cosmology

Martin Bojowald The Pennsylvania State University Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos University Park, PA

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Matter and Space

Two basic notions in physics: matter, space(-time). Equally important: Matter exists in space. Space can exist without matter, but rather boring.

Yet, research attention distributed unevenly: Condensed-matter physics! Space-time physics? (Not space science)

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Measurements
Matter: distributions of energy.

Different realizations as elementary particles and their many combinations make things interesting.
Space and time: Appear always the same, by common experience.

Measuring space and time most basic process in physics: analyze motion. Even more basic than physics: geometry. How can physics investigate something more fundamental than itself?

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What do we know about space and time?

Special relativity:

Space and time are not absolute. Four-dimensional space-time.

General relativity: Space-time curvature:

Space and time are dynamical, expand. They affect matter, are inuenced by matter. Einsteins eld equation. Gravity: On a curved surface, angles change as one moves. In curved space-time, velocities change as one moves: acceleration, force. Important and well-studied consequences in astrophysics and cosmology.
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Cosmology: History of beginnings

Galaxies, stars form by gravitational attraction of primordial

hydrogen.
Heavier elements produced by nuclear fusion in stars and

during big-bang nucleosynthesis in early hot universe, protons and neutrons during baryogenesis. Tested by many independent observations.
More speculative: Matter excitations and energy created

from quantum uctuations during ination. Energy conservation holds when gravitational contribution taken into account. What was the beginning of space and time?

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What do we not know about space and time?

Quantum gravity:

If space and time are dynamical and physical objects, they should obey the rules of quantum physics. How? For instance, superpositions of different times?
Space-time atoms:

Elementary structure of space and time?

Singularities:

Interesting solutions of general relativity cannot be complete: borders of space and time where physics ends (including condensed-matter physics). For instance, big bang.

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Dimensional arguments
Combine Newtons constant G, Plancks constant of light c to Planck length G P = 1035 m c3 and speed

Planck mass MP 1g. Planck density P = MP /3 : P More than one trillion solar masses in a region the size of a proton. Quantum gravity should be relevant at Planck density, for instance near big bang. But dimensional arguments can fail when several parameters are involved. (Example: radius of hydrogen atom compared to high Z .) Analyze space-time in more detail.
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Special relativity
Observer moving at speed v : x(t) = x0 + vt. Assigns new coordinates
x =

x vt 1 v 2 /c2

ct =

ct vx/c 1 v 2 /c2

to events.

t=const.
t

Nn
x

t=const.

Poincar transformations as linear deformations of spatial slice: N (x) = ct + (v/c) x, w(x) = x + Rx.
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 Poincare algebra

Normal deformations by N1 (x) = vx/c (Lorentz boost) and N2 (x) = ct vx/c (reverse Lorentz boost and waiting t) commute up to spatial displacement w(x) = x = vt. Geometrize uniform, inertial motion.
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General relativity
Non-linear coordinate changes non-linear deformations of space:

w N1 N2 N2 N1
Hypersurface-deformation algebra:
[S(w1 ), S(w2 )] = S(Lw2 w1 ) [T (N ), S(w)] = T (w N ) [T (N1 ), T (N2 )] = S(N1 N2 N2 N1 )
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Symmetry determines dynamics

Hypersurface deformations geometrize general motion in space-time.
Hojman, Kucha, Teitelboim 197476: r

Second-order eld equations for geometry invariant under hypersurface-deformation algebra must equal Einsteins.
Dirac 1958:

Invariance under hypersurface-deformation algebra implies general covariance, perhaps even more fundamental. How might quantum physics change hypersurface deformations? Hamiltonian generates time translations, other operators for remaining Poincar transformations.

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Canonical gravity
Describe space-time geometry by su(2)-valued electric eld Ei and vector potential Ai . [A Ashtekar 86, F Barbero 95]
Electric eld:

triad, determines spatial distances/angles by three orthonormal vectors Ei , i = 1, 2, 3, at each point in space.
Ai combination of different measures of curvature of space.

Vector potential:

Ei momentum of Ai : Canonical variables.

(In what follows, use U(1)-connection A for simplicity.)

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Loop quantum gravity

Multiplication operators: Holonomies he = exp(i along curves e in space, tangent te . Start with basic state 0 by 0 (A) = 1. Excited states:
i 1 e1 ,k1 ;...;ei ,ki (A) = hk1 hki 0 (A) e e =
e e dA

te )

[C Rovelli, L Smolin 90]

he (A)ke =
e

exp(ike dA te )
e

h1

h2

["emptiest" space]

1111 0000 11 00 1111 0000 11 00 1111 0000 11 00

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State of Hell

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State of Hell
Characterize state by its expectation values for all hn . e Single curve: 0 , hn 0 = U(1) exp(inA/2)dA = 0 for n = 0. e

Analogy: Finite-temperature state on U(1), density matrix T = Z 1 exp(H/kB T ). Limit of innite temperature: id. Expectation values
hn
[K Fredenhagen]

trhn =
mZ

m|hn |m =
mZ

m|m + n = 0

for n = 0

with orthonormal basis A|m = exp(imA/2).

0 as big-bang state: innite temperature, no spatial extension.

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Discrete Geometry
Derivative operator: Flux
G d yn Eg,k = 3 ic S
2

d2 yn E for surfaces S in space. S

2

g,k ke Int(S, e)g,k = 2 d yn Pl A(y) S eg G /c3 .

with intersection number Int(S, e), Planck length Pl =

Discrete geometry: for gravity, ux represents spatial metric.

Candidate for elementary structure of space. Estimate of scale: P 1035 m. How to probe experimentally?

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Indirect evidence
1905, Albert Einstein: Analysis of Brownian motion as convincing evidence for atoms.

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Indirect evidence
1905, Albert Einstein: Analysis of Brownian motion as convincing evidence for atoms.

1955, Erwin Mller: First direct image of atoms using eld ion microscopy.
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Cosmic miscroscope

Space is expanding: Universe as microscope. Long process may wash out many details, but indirect hints about microscopic structure of matter and space may be decipherable.

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Hamiltonian
YangMills theory on Minkowski space-time:
d3 x(|Ei |2 + |Bi |2 )

for Bi = Ai + Cijk Aj Ak (structure constants Cijk ) Gravity on any space-time:

1 16G d x
3 ijk ijk (Bi 1 6|

Ej ) Ek Ej ) Ek |

ijk ijk (Ei

with Cijk = ijk .

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Inverse-volume corrections
Flux operator: discrete spectrum containing zero, no inverse. Inverse momentum on circle (, p): states |n = exp(in), momentum operator p|n = n|n , p1 not dened on |0 . Instead:
1 I := |p|1/2 sgn(p) = cos(){sin(), 2 |p|}sin(){cos(), |p|}

with quantization
I= cos sin, || sin cos, p i || p

well-dened with correct classical limit.

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Quantum corrections
Inverse-volume corrections from quantizing A,
i [T Thiemann 96]

| det E|d x
2.5

= 2G

ijk

Ej Ek | det E|

( related to lattice spacing)

2 1.5

(r)
1

0.5

Higher-order corrections: he = exp(i e dA te ) Quantum back-reaction

0 0 0.5 1

r=1/2 r=3/4 r=1 r=3/2 r=2

1.5 2

ux eigenvalues

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Deformed hypersurface deformations

[MB, G Hossain, M Kagan, S Shankaranarayanan 2008]

[S(w1 ), S(w2 )] = S(Lw2 w1 ) [T (N ), S(w)] = T (w N ) [T (N1 ), T (N2 )] = S(2 (N1 N2 N2 N1 ))

Relation of spatial displacement to boost velocity modied: x = vt. Discrete space slows down/ speeds up propagation.

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Cosmological perturbation equations

Density perturbations u, gravitational waves w:
z + c2 s()2 u + (z /)u = 0 u a w + c2 2 w + (a/)w = 0
Propagation speed differs from classical speed of light c. Different corrections for different modes:

corrections to tensor-to-scalar ratio. Covariance not broken but deformed.

(r)

2.5

1.5

Crucial for falsiability: -corrections large for small lattice spacing. Discreteness scale bounded from two sides.

0.5

0 0 0.5 1

r=1/2 r=3/4 r=1 r=3/2 r=2

1.5 2

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Scalar mode
z + c2 s()2 u + (z /)u = 0 u
1 0.9 x 10
4

[MB, G Calcagni, S Tsujikawa 2011]

108 < = 1 < 104

0.8 0.7

(k )

much closer than P and H

0.6 0 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0

(evaluated with slow-roll parameter V )

0.005

(k )
V 0

0.01

0.015

0.02

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Big-bang singularity
Wave function can be extended to times before the big bang. Difference equation for wave function of the universe:
C+ ()+1 C0 () + C ()1 = Hmatter ()

Deep quantum regime at high density remains unclear: quantization ambiguities. Use solvable models for some properties.

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End of time

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End of time
Planckian density: Hypersurface-deformation algebra
[S(w1 ), S(w2 )] = S(Lw2 w1 ) [T (N ), S(w)] = T (w N ) [T (N1 ), T (N2 )] = S((N1 N2 N2 N1 ))

with < 0.
[A Barrau, T Cailleteau, J Grain, J Mielczarek 11]

Negative displacement with positive velocity. Geometry: 4-dimensional space instead of space-time.
[MB, G Paily 11]

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Summary
Implications of quantum gravity can be signicant.

Theory to be tested with future observations, probing the elementary form of space and time.
Large number of space-time atoms enlarges some

quantum effects above Planck scale: Inverse-volume corrections as implication of spatial discreteness, geometrical operators with discrete spectrum.
Drastic changes of space-time at high density.

No time in space-time, only 4-dimensional space.

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Condensed space-time physics

Atomic space just like condensed-matter system, but with characteristic dynamics from gravity. Adapt and apply techniques for effective potentials, mean-eld approximations, . . . Example: Treat nearly homogeneous space in cosmology as collection of nearly identical, weakly interacting quantum geometries. Similar to many-particle state in BoseEinstein condensate: GrossPitaevskii equation (non-linear Schrdinger equation). Find further effects to probe space-time physics.

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