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Phase transition in quantum gravity

Viqar Husain·Sebastian Jaimungal
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Abstract

A fundamental problem with attempting to quantize general relativity is its perturbative non-renormalizability. However, this fact does not rule out the possibility that non-perturbative effects can be computed, at least in some approximation. We outline a quantum field theory calculation, based on general relativity as the classical theory, which implies a phase transition in quantum gravity. The order parameters are composite fields derived from spacetime metric functions. These are massless below a critical energy scale and become massive above it. There is a corresponding breaking of classical symmetry.

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Viqar Husain, Sebastian Jaimungal. 1999-08-19. Phase transition in quantum gravity. https://doi.org/10.1142/s0217732399001152

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