arXiv subjects

Hanno Sahlmann

Publications and source records attributed to Hanno Sahlmann.

64 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2006

On the quantum origin of the seeds of cosmic structure

The current understanding of the quantum origin of cosmic structure is discussed critically. We point out that in the existing treatments a transition from a symmetric quantum state to an (essentially classical) non-symmetric state is implicitly assumed, but not specified or analyzed in any detail. In facing the issue we are led to conclude that new physics is required to explain the apparent predictive power of the usual schemes. Furthermore we show that the novel way of looking at the relevant issues opens new windows from where relevant information might be extracted regarding cosmological issues and perhaps even clues about aspects of quantum gravity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2004

On Loop Quantum Gravity Phenomenology and the Issue of Lorentz Invariance

A simple model is constructed which allows to compute modified dispersion relations with effects from loop quantum gravity. Different quantization choices can be realized and their effects on the order of corrections studied explicitly. A comparison with more involved semiclassical techniques shows that there is agreement even at a quantitative level. Furthermore, by contrasting Hamiltonian and Lagrangian descriptions we show that possible Lorentz symmetry violations may be blurred as an artifact of the approximation scheme. Whether this is the case in a purely Hamiltonian analysis can be resolved by an improvement in the effective semiclassical analysis.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2003

Evolution in Quantum Causal Histories

We provide a precise definition and analysis of quantum causal histories (QCH). A QCH consists of a discrete, locally finite, causal pre-spacetime with matrix algebras encoding the quantum structure at each event. The evolution of quantum states and observables is described by completely positive maps between the algebras at causally related events. We show that this local description of evolution is sufficient and that unitary evolution can be recovered wherever it should actually be expected. This formalism may describe a quantum cosmology without an assumption of global hyperbolicity; it is thus more general than the Wheeler-DeWitt approach. The structure of a QCH is also closely related to quantum information theory and algebraic quantum field theory on a causal set.

hep-th↗

arXiv2003

Irreducibility of the Ashtekar-Isham-Lewandowski representation

Much of the work in loop quantum gravity and quantum geometry rests on a mathematically rigorous integration theory on spaces of distributional connections. Most notably, a diffeomorphism invariant representation of the algebra of basic observables of the theory, the Ashtekar-Isham-Lewandowski representation, has been constructed. Recently, several uniqueness results for this representation have been worked out. In the present article, we contribute to these efforts by showing that the AIL-representation is irreducible, provided it is viewed as the representation of a certain C*-algebra which is very similar to the Weyl algebra used in the canonical quantization of free quantum field theories.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2003

On the superselection theory of the Weyl algebra for diffeomorphism invariant quantum gauge theories

Much of the work in loop quantum gravity and quantum geometry rests on a mathematically rigorous integration theory on spaces of distributional connections. Most notably, a diffeomorphism invariant representation of the algebra of basic observables of the theory, the Ashtekar-Lewandowski representation, has been constructed. This representation is singled out by its mathematical elegance, and up to now, no other diffeomorphism invariant representation has been constructed. This raises the question whether it is unique in a precise sense. In the present article we take steps towards answering this question. Our main result is that upon imposing relatively mild additional assumptions, the AL-representation is indeed unique. As an important tool which is also interesting in its own right, we introduce a C*-algebra which is very similar to the Weyl algebra used in the canonical quantization of free quantum field theories.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2002

Polymer and Fock representations for a Scalar field

In loop quantum gravity, matter fields can have support only on the `polymer-like' excitations of quantum geometry, and their algebras of observables and Hilbert spaces of states can not refer to a classical, background geometry. Therefore, to adequately handle the matter sector, one has to address two issues already at the kinematic level. First, one has to construct the appropriate background independent operator algebras and Hilbert spaces. Second, to make contact with low energy physics, one has to relate this `polymer description' of matter fields to the standard Fock description in Minkowski space. While this task has been completed for gauge fields, important gaps remained in the treatment of scalar fields. The purpose of this letter is to fill these gaps.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2002

Towards the QFT on Curved Spacetime Limit of QGR. I: A General Scheme

In this article and a companion paper we address the question of how one might obtain the semiclassical limit of ordinary matter quantum fields (QFT) propagating on curved spacetimes (CST) from full fledged Quantum General Relativity (QGR), starting from first principles. We stress that we do not claim to have a satisfactory answer to this question, rather our intention is to ignite a discussion by displaying the problems that have to be solved when carrying out such a program. In the present paper we propose a scheme that one might follow in order to arrive at such a limit. We discuss the technical and conceptual problems that arise in doing so and how they can be solved in principle. As to be expected, completely new issues arise due to the fact that QGR is a background independent theory. For instance, fundamentally the notion of a photon involves not only the Maxwell quantum field but also the metric operator - in a sense, there is no photon vacuum state but a "photon vacuum operator"! While in this first paper we focus on conceptual and abstract aspects, for instance the definition of (fundamental) n-particle states (e.g. photons), in the second paper we perform detailed calculations including, among other things, coherent state expectation values and propagation on random lattices. These calculations serve as an illustration of how far one can get with present mathematical techniques. Although they result in detailed predictions for the size of first quantum corrections such as the gamma-ray burst effect, these predictions should not be taken too seriously because a) the calculations are carried out at the kinematical level only and b) while we can classify the amount of freedom in our constructions, the analysis of the physical significance of possible choices has just begun.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2002

Towards the QFT on Curved Spacetime Limit of QGR. II: A Concrete Implementation

The present paper is the companion of [1] in which we proposed a scheme that tries to derive the Quantum Field Theory (QFT) on Curved Spacetimes (CST) limit from background independent Quantum General Relativity (QGR). The constructions of [1] make heavy use of the notion of semiclassical states for QGR. In the present paper, we employ the complexifier coherent states for QGR recently proposed by Thiemann and Winkler as semiclassical states, and thus fill the general formulas obtained in [1] with life. We demonstrate how one can, under some simplifying assumptions, explicitely compute expectation values of the operators relevant for the gravity-matter Hamiltonians of [1] in the complexifier coherent states. These expectation values give rise to effective matter Hamiltonians on the background on which the gravitational coherent state is peaked and thus induce approximate notions of n-particle states and matter propagation on fluctuating spacetimes. We display the details for the scalar and the electromagnetic field. The effective theories exhibit two types of corrections as compared to the the ordinary QFT on CST. The first is due to the quantum fluctuations of the gravitational field, the second arises from the fact that background independence forces both geometry and matter to propagate on a spacetime that is the product of the real line and a (random) graph. Finally we obtain explicit numerical predictions for non-standard dispersion relations for the scalar and the electromagnetic field. They should, however, not be taken too seriously, due to the many ambiguities in our scheme, the analysis of the physical significance of which has only begun. We show however, that one can classify these ambiguities at least in broad terms.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2001

Microlocal spectrum condition and Hadamard form for vector-valued quantum fields in curved spacetime

Some years ago, Radzikowski has found a characterization of Hadamard states for scalar quantum fields on a four-dimensional globally hyperbolic spacetime in terms of a specific form of the wavefront set of their two-point functions (termed `wavefront set spectrum condition'), thereby initiating a major progress in the understanding of Hadamard states and the further development of quantum field theory in curved spacetime. In the present work, we extend this important result on the equivalence of the wavefront set spectrum condition with the Hadamard condition from scalar fields to vector fields (sections in a vector bundle) which are subject to a wave-equation and are quantized so as to fulfill the covariant canonical commutation relations, or which obey a Dirac equation and are quantized according to the covariant anti-commutation relations, in any globally hyperbolic spacetime having dimension three or higher. In proving this result, a gap which is present in the published proof for the scalar field case will be removed. Moreover we determine the short-distance scaling limits of Hadamard states for vector-bundle valued fields, finding them to coincide with the corresponding flat-space, massless vacuum states.

math-ph↗

arXiv2000

Passivity and microlocal spectrum condition

In the setting of vector-valued quantum fields obeying a linear wave-equation in a globally hyperbolic, stationary spacetime, it is shown that the two-point functions of passive quantum states (mixtures of ground- or KMS-states) fulfill the microlocal spectrum condition (which in the case of the canonically quantized scalar field is equivalent to saying that the two-point function is of Hadamard form). The fields can be of bosonic or fermionic character. We also give an abstract version of this result by showing that passive states of a topological *-dynamical system have an asymptotic pair correlation spectrum of a specific type.

math-ph↗