arXiv subjects

Aleksandar Mikovic

Publications and source records attributed to Aleksandar Mikovic.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Generalization of Bohmian Mechanics and Quantum Gravity Effective Action

We generalize the de Broglie-Bohm (dBB) formulation of quantum mechanics to the case of quantum gravity (QG) by using the effective action for a QG theory. This is done by replacing the dBB equations of motion with the effective action equations of motion, which is beneficial even in the non-gravitational case, since in this way one avoids the violations of the Heisenberg uncertainity relations and the absence of the classical trajectories for stationary bound states. Another advantage of the effective action formalism is that one can obtain the field configurations in the case of a quantum field theory (QFT). The proposed QG generalization is natural for Bohmiam mechanics because a dBB wavefunction is really a wavefunction of the Universe and in order to define the effective action for an arbitrary initial state one needs a QG path integral. The QG effective action can be constructed by using the piecewise flat quantum gravity (PFQG) theory and the PFQG effective action can be approximated by the QFT effective action for General Relativity coupled to matter, with a cutoff determined by the average edge length of the spacetime triangulation. One can then calculate the corresponding field configurations and from these field configurations one can obtain the trajectories for the corresponding elementary particles.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Finiteness of piecewise flat quantum gravity with matter

We review the approach to quantum gravity which is based on the assumption that the short-distance structure of the spacetime is given by a piecewise flat manifold corresponding to a triangulation of a smooth manifold. We then describe the coupling of the Standard Model to this quantum gravity theory and show that the corresponding path integral is finite when the negative power of the product of the edge lengths squared in the path-integral measure is chossen to be grater than 52,5. The implications of this result are discussed, which include a relationship between the effective action and a wavefunction of the universe, the existence of the non-perturbative effective action, the correct value of the cosmological constant and the natural appearence of the Starobinsky inflation.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Physical States and Transition Amplitudes in Piecewise Flat Quantum Gravity

We show how the path integral for gravity and matter on a piecewise flat spacetime can be used to define the physical quantum gravity states and the related transition amplitudes. The physical states are given by the path integrals for open manifolds from a certain topological class, while the corresponding transition amplitudes are obtained by gluing two such open manifolds into a closed one and calculating the corresponding path integral. We also solve the problem of how to associate a quantum gravity state to an effective action. This is done by using the path integral for a closed manifold from the transition-amplitude topological class so that the state which corresponds to the effective action can be choosen to be the Hartle-Hawking or the Vilenkin wavefunction for the vacuum manifold component of the transition-amplitude manifold.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Hamiltonian analysis of the BFCG theory for a strict Lie 2-group

We perform a complete Hamiltonian analysis of the BFCG action for a general Lie 2-group by using the Dirac procedure. We show that the resulting dynamical constraints eliminate all local degrees of freedom which implies that the BFCG theory is a topological field theory.

math-ph↗

arXiv2023

Finiteness of quantum gravity with matter on a PL spacetime

We study the convergence of the path integral for General Relativity with matter on a picewise linear (PL) spacetime that corresponds to a triangulation of a smooth manifold by using a path-integral measure that renders the pure gravity path integral finite. This measure depends on a parameter p, and in the case when the matter content is just scalar fields, we show that the path integral is absolutely convergent for p > 0,5 and not more than 2 scalar fields. In the case of Yang-Mills fields, we show that the path integral is absolutely convergent for the U(1) group and p > 0,5. In the case of Dirac fermions, we show that the path integral is absolutely convergent for any number of fermions and a sufficiently large p. When the matter content is given by scalars, Yang-Mills fields and fermions, as in the case of the Standard Model, we show that the path integral is absolutely convergent for p > 46,5. Hence one can construct a finite quantum gravity theory on a PL spacetime such that the classical limit is General Relativity coupled to the Standard Model.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Effective Actions for Regge Piecewise Flat Quantum Gravity

We review the construction of the path integral and the corresponding effective action for the Regge formulation of General Relativity under the assumption that the short-distance structure of the spacetime is not a smooth 4-manifold, but a picewise linear manifold based on a triangulation of a smooth 4-manifold. We point out that the exponentially damped 4-volume path-integral measure does not give a finite path integral, although it can be used for the construction of the perturbative effective action. We modify the 4-volume measure by multiplying it by an inverse power of the product of the edge-lengths such that the new measure gives a finite path integral while it retains all the nice features of the unmodified measure.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Standard Model and 4-groups

We show that a categorical generalization of the the Poincaré symmetry which is based on the n-crossed modules becomes natural and simple when n=3 and that the corresponding 3-form and 4-form gauge fields have to be a Dirac spinor and a Lorentz scalar, respectively. Hence by using a Poincaré 4-group we naturally incorporate fermionic and scalar matter into the corresponding 4-connection. The internal symmetries can be included into the 4-group structure by using a 3-crossed module based on the $SL(2,\mathbb{C}) \times K$ group, so that for $K=U(1)\times SU(2) \times SU(3)$ we can include the Standard Model into this categorification scheme.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

Piecewise Flat Metrics and Quantum Gravity

We introduce a physical piecewise linear metric associated to a Regge triangulation of a smooth 4-manifold. We describe the basic properties of the corresponding geometry in the cases of the Euclidean and the Minkowski signature. In the Minkowski case, we describe the Regge action and how to define the corresponding path integral for the casual triangulations. We also discus the Regge path integral for a triangulation associated to the Friedman-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker cosmological model and briefly study the corresponding wavefunctions, namely the Hartle-Hawking and the Vilenkin wavefunction.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Hamiltonian analysis of the BFCG formulation of General Relativity

We perform the complete Hamiltonian analysis of the BFCG action for General Relativity. We determine all the constraints of the theory and classify them into the first-class and the second-class constraints. We also show how the canonical formulation of BFCG General Relativity reduces to the Einstein-Cartan and triad canonical formulations. The reduced phase space analysis also gives a 2-connection which is suitable for the construction of a spin-foam basis which will be a categorical generalization of the spin-network basis from Loop Quantum Gravity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Quantum gravity for piecewise flat spacetimes

We describe a theory of quantum gravity which is based on the assumption that the spacetime structure at small distances is given by a piecewise linear (PL) 4-manifold corresponding to a triangulation of a smooth 4-manifold. The fundamental degrees of freedom are the edge lengths of the triangulation. One can work with finitely many edge lengths, so that the corresponding Regge path integral can be made finite by using an appropriate path-integral measure. The semi-classical limit is computed by using the effective action formalism, and the existence of a semi-classical effective action restricts the choice of the path-integral measure. The classical limit is given by the Regge action, so that one has a quantum gravity theory for a piecewise-flat general relativity. By using the effective action formalism we show that the observed value of the cosmological constant can be recovered from the effective cosmological constant. When the number of 4-simplices in the spacetime triangulation is large, then the PL effective action is well approximated by a quantum field theory effective action with a physical cutoff determined by the smallest edge length.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

Cosmological Constant in a Quantum Gravity Theory for a Piecewise-linear Spacetime

We study the quantum contributions to the classical cosmological constant in a quantum gravity theory for GR with matter on a piecewise linear spacetime corresponding to a triangulation of a smooth manifold. We use the effective action approach and a special path-integral (PI) measure which depends on a free parameter, while matter is modeled by a massive self-interacting scalar field. The effective cosmological constant (CC) is given as a sum of 3 terms: the classical CC, the quantum gravity CC and the matter CC. We show that the free parameters of the theory can be chosen such that the classical CC cancels the matter CC so that the effective CC is given by the QG CC. Since the value of the quantum gravity CC is determined by the PI measure only, the PI measure parameter can be chosen such that the effective CC gives the observed value. This is equivalent to the statement that the experimentally observed CC value belongs to the spectrum of the CC operator in this QG theory.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

Hamiltonian analysis of the BFCG theory for the Poincare 2-group

We perform the full Hamiltonian analysis of the topological BFCG action based on the Poincare 2-group. The Hamiltonian of the theory is constructed, and the algebra of constraints is computed. The Dirac brackets are evaluated, and the second class constraints are then eliminated from the theory. The results are contrasted to those of the topological Poincare gauge theory, which is equivalent to the BFCG model at the level of the classical action, but has a very different Hamiltonian structure.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Categorical generalization of spinfoam models

We give a brief review of the problem of quantum gravity. After the discussion of the nonrenormalizability of general relativity, we briefly mention the main research directions which aim to resolve this problem. Our attention then focuses on the approach of Loop Quantum Gravity, specifically spinfoam models. These models have some issues concerning the semiclassical limit and coupling of matter fields. The recent developments in category theory provide us with the necessary formalism to introduce a new action for general relativity and perform covariant quantization so that the issues of spinfoam models are successfully resolved.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Godel's Incompleteness Theorems and Platonic Metaphysics

We argue by using Godel's incompletness theorems in logic that platonism is the best metaphysics for science. This is based on the fact that a natural law in a platonic metaphysics represents a timeless order in the motion of matter, while a natural law in a materialistic metaphysics can be only defined as a temporary order which appears at random in the chaotic motion of matter. Although a logical possibility, one can argue that this type of metaphysics is highly implausible. Given that mathematics fits naturally within platonism, we conclude that a platonic metaphysics is more preferable than a materialistic metaphysics.

physics.hist-ph↗

arXiv2015

Solution to the Cosmological Constant Problem in a Regge Quantum Gravity Model

We show that it is possible to solve the cosmological constant (CC) problem in a discrete quantum gravity theory based on Regge calculus by using the effective action approach and a special path-integral measure. The effective cosmological constant is given as a sum of 3 terms: the classical CC, the quantum gravity CC and the matter CC. Since the observations can only measure the sum of these 3 terms, we can choose the classical CC to be equal to the negative value of the matter CC. Hence the effective CC is given only by the quantum gravity CC, which is determined by the path-integral measure. Since the path-integral measure depends on a free parameter, this parameter can be chosen such that the effective CC gives the observed value.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Canonical formulation of Poincare BFCG theory and its quantization

We find the canonical formulation of the Poincare BFCG theory in terms of the spatial 2-connection and its canonically conjugate momenta. We show that the Poincare BFCG action is dynamically equivalent to the BF action for the Poincare group and we find the canonical transformation relating the two. We study the canonical quantization of the Poincare BFCG theory by passing to the Poincare-connection basis. The quantization in the 2-connection basis can be then achieved by performing a Fourier transform. We also briefly discuss how to approach the problem of constructing a basis of spin-foam states, which are the categorical generalization of the spin-network states from Loop Quantum Gravity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Effective Actions for Regge State-Sum Models of Quantum Gravity

We study the semiclassical expansion of the effective action for a Regge state-sum model and its dependence on the choice of the path-integral measure and the spectrum of the edge lengths. If the positivity of the edge lengths is imposed in the effective action equation, we find that the semiclassical expansion is not possible for the power-law measures, while the exponential measures allow the semiclassical expansion. Furthermore, a slightly generalized exponential measure can generate the cosmological term in the effective action as a quantum correction, with a naturally small value of the cosmological constant. We also find that in the case of a discrete length spectrum, the semiclassical expansion is allowed only if the spectrum gap is much smaller than the Planck length.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Poincare 2-group and quantum gravity

We show that General Relativity can be formulated as a constrained topological theory for flat 2-connections associated to the Poincaré 2-group. Matter can be consistently coupled to gravity in this formulation. We also show that the edge lengths of the spacetime manifold triangulation arise as the basic variables in the path-integral quantization, while the state-sum amplitude is an evaluation of a colored 3-complex, in agreement with the category theory results. A 3-complex amplitude for Euclidean quantum gravity is proposed.

gr-qc↗