arXiv subjects

Armin van de Venn

Publications and source records attributed to Armin van de Venn.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Tidal Forces in the Presence of Torsion and Nonmetricity

This work investigates how torsion and nonmetricity modify tidal accelerations in metric-affine gravity. We derive a projected deviation equation that generalizes the standard geodesic deviation equation to metric-affine geometry, and apply it to the relative acceleration of neighboring autoparallels in the weak-field, nonrelativistic limit. In this regime, the tidal acceleration separates into the usual Newtonian contribution and linear post-Riemannian corrections sourced by torsion and non-metricity. By decomposing torsion and nonmetricity into their irreducible Lorentz components, we identify the corresponding signatures in the tidal tensor and discuss to what extent these contributions can be distinguished. We then show how future direct tidal measurements could be translated into benchmark bounds on post-Riemannian tidal contributions, assuming probe dynamics sensitive to the affine connection. Our results suggest that the tidal acceleration may provide a systematic route toward probing post-Riemannian spacetime features in the future.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Torsion-Induced Quantum Fluctuations in Metric-Affine Gravity using the Stochastic Variational Method

This review paper comprehensively examines the influence of spatial torsion on quantum fluctuations from the perspectives of Metric-Affine Gravity (MAG) and the Stochastic Variational Method (SVM). We first outline the fundamental framework of MAG, a generalized theory that includes both torsion and non-metricity, and discuss the geometrical significance of torsion within this context. Subsequently, we summarize SVM, a powerful technique that facilitates quantization while effectively incorporating geometrical effects. By integrating these frameworks, we evaluate how the geometrical structures originating from torsion affect quantum fluctuations, demonstrating that they induce non-linearity in quantum mechanics. Notably, torsion, traditionally believed to influence only spin degrees of freedom, can also affect spinless degrees of freedom via quantum fluctuations. Furthermore, extending beyond the results of previous work [Koide and van de Venn, Phys. Rev. A112, 052217 (2025)], we investigate the competitive interplay between the Levi-Civita curvature and torsion within the non-linearity of the Schrödinger equation. Finally, we discuss the structural parallelism between SVM and information geometry, highlighting that the splitting of time derivatives in stochastic processes corresponds to the dual connections in statistical manifolds. These insights pave the way for future extensions to gravity theories involving non-metricity and are expected to deepen our understanding of unresolved cosmological problems.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

The Gravitational Aspect of Information: The Physical Reality of Asymmetric "Distance"

We show that when a Brownian bridge is physically constrained to satisfy a canonical condition, its time evolution exactly coincides with an m-geodesic on the statistical manifold of Gaussian distributions. This identification provides a direct physical realization of a geometric concept in information geometry. It implies that purely random processes evolve along informationally straight trajectories, analogous to geodesics in general relativity. Our findings suggest that the asymmetry of informational ``distance" (divergence) plays a fundamental physical role, offering a concrete step toward an equivalence principle for information.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2025

Torsion-Driven Nonlinearity in Spinless Quantum Mechanics

We investigate the previously unexplored quantum dynamics of non-relativistic, spinless particles propagating in curved spaces with torsion. Our findings demonstrate that while torsion has been predominantly associated with spin, it can also influence the quantum behavior of spinless particles by inducing a logarithmic nonlinearity in the Schroedinger equation through quantum fluctuations, even in flat space. To facilitate quantization in curved spaces, we introduce a novel stochastic variational method. Unlike canonical quantization, this approach is naturally suited to general coordinate systems, with quantum fluctuations arising from a noise term in the stochastic process that is directly influenced by torsion. By requiring consistency with quantum dynamics, we ultimately derive an upper bound on the magnitude of torsion. Our results reveal a previously unrecognized mechanism by which torsion, as predicted in certain extensions of general relativity, can influence quantum systems, with potential implications for early-universe physics and dark matter or energy models.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Toward Singularity Theorems with Torsion

This study examines the formulation of a singularity theorem for timelike curves including torsion, and establishes the foundational framework necessary for its derivation. We begin by deriving the relative acceleration for an arbitrary congruence of timelike curves. The resulting ``deviation equation'' offers an alternative pathway to the well-known Raychaudhuri equation with torsion. Conjugate points are then introduced and analyzed in relation to the behavior of the scalar expansion. Together with the sensible requirement of hypersurface orthogonality, the Raychaudhuri equation is examined for several specific cases of torsion that are prominent in the literature. Our findings indicate that a totally antisymmetric torsion tensor does not influence the behavior of the congruence of timelike curves. Finally, we formulate a singularity theorem for timelike curves and highlight the critical requirement of non-autoparallel curves.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Torsional dark energy in quadratic gauge gravity

The Covariant Canonical Gauge theory of Gravity (CCGG) is a gauge field formulation of gravity which a priori includes non-metricity and torsion. It extends the Lagrangian of Einstein's theory of general relativity by terms at least quadratic in the Riemann-Cartan tensor. This paper investigates the implications of metric compatible CCGG on cosmological scales. For a totally anti-symmetric torsion tensor we derive the resulting equations of motion in a Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) Universe. In the limit of a vanishing quadratic Riemann-Cartan term, the arising modifications of the Friedmann equations are shown to be equivalent to spatial curvature. Furthermore, the modified Friedmann equations are investigated in detail in the early and late times of the Universe's history. It is demonstrated that in addition to the standard $Λ$CDM behaviour of the scale factor, there exist novel time dependencies, emerging due to the presence of torsion and the quadratic Riemann-Cartan term. Finally, at late times, we present how the accelerated expansion of the Universe can be understood as a geometric effect of spacetime through torsion, rendering the introduction of a cosmological constant redundant. In such a scenario it is possible to compute an expected value for the parameters of the postulated gravitational Hamiltonian/Lagrangian and to provide a lower bound on the vacuum energy of matter.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Torsion driving cosmic expansion

We study a cosmological model based on the canonical Hamiltonian transformation theory. Using a linear-quadratic approach for the free gravitational De Donder-Weyl Hamiltonian $H_\mathrm{Gr}$, the model contains terms describing a deformation of an AdS spacetime and a fully anti-symmetric torsion in addition to Einstein's theory. The resulting extension of the Einstein-Cartan theory depends on two initially unknown constants, $Ω_\mathrm{g}$ and $Ω_\mathrm{s}$. Given an appropriate choice of these parameters resulting from the analysis of asymptotics, numerical calculations were performed with $Ω_\mathrmΛ = 0$. Values from the Planck Collaboration were used for all other required cosmological parameters. In this way, it is shown that torsion can explain phenomena commonly attributed to dark energy, and thus can replace Einstein's cosmological constant.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

The dark side of the torsion: Dark Energy from propagating torsion

An extension to the Einstein-Cartan (EC) action is discussed in terms of cosmological solutions. The torsion incorporated in the EC Lagrangian is assumed to be totally anti-symmetric, represented by a time-like axial vector $S^μ$. The dynamics of torsion is invoked by a novel kinetic term. Here we show that this kinetic term gives rise to dark energy, while the quadratic torsion term, emanating from the EC part, represents a stiff fluid that leads to a bouncing cosmology solution. A constraint on the bouncing solution is calculated using cosmological data from different epochs.

astro-ph.CO↗