arXiv subjects

Kristina Giesel

Publications and source records attributed to Kristina Giesel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Robustness of the primordial power spectrum in hybrid loop quantum cosmology to approximations near the bounce

We prove the robustness of the analytic approximation used in (hybrid) loop quantum cosmology to compute the primordial power spectrum of the cosmological perturbations for a recently proposed vacuum state (the non-oscillatory state with asymptotic Hamiltonian diagonalization). To investigate this, we study different approximations to the effective mass of these perturbations near the bounce, showing that the P\"oschl-Teller potential employed in previous works leads to indistinguishable power spectra compared to other estimations of the mass, provided that they successfully capture the characteristic scale of the bounce, which translates into a scale of power suppression.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Generalising gravitationally induced decoherence beyond linear environmental interactions in a microscopic quantum mechanical toy model

We generalise the quantum mechanical toy model for gravitationally induced decoherence presented in Xu, Blencowe (2022) and Domi et al. (2024). In contrast to earlier formulations, in which the Hamiltonian of the system of interest is linearly coupled to the position operators of the oscillators in the environment, we consider an interaction formulated in terms of Weyl elements of the environment's position operators. This extension is motivated by polymer quantum mechanics, in which Weyl elements are fundamental operators, as well as by the possibility of generating non-linear interactions through suitable truncations of the exponential Weyl elements. Here we focus on a sinus-like coupling that is still quantised using the Schr\"odinger representation and, in the limit of a small Weyl parameter, reproduces the conventional linear interaction. To derive the corresponding master equation, we developed two complementary methods for the analytical calculation of the environmental correlation functions. The first utilises Wick's theorem for thermal expectation values in conjunction with annihilation and creation operators, while the second is based on the short-time Fourier transform and completely avoids the use of annihilation and creation operators, making it more readily transferable and generalisable to a polymer quantisation. Both approaches yield identical results. We further generalise the spectral density required for the exponential coupling structure. A numerical analysis shows that the environmental correlation functions decay rapidly with time, which supports the validity of the Markov approximation. Using a Taylor expansion in the Weyl parameter, we show that the first-order term reproduces the decoherence model of Xu, Blencowe (2022) and Domi et al. (2024). Finally, we derive the solution to the renormalised master equation.

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arXiv2026

Formation of shell-crossing singularities in effective gravitational collapse models with bounded and unbounded polymerizations

We extend the investigation into the formation of shell-crossing singularites (SCS) in effective polymerized LTB models to the LQG-inspired asymmetric bounce model, as well as to effective LTB models based on the solutions of Bardeen and Hayward, in which no bounce occurs. While the asymmetric bouncing model belongs to the class of bounded polymerization functions, the latter models feature unbounded polymerization functions. Our results show that, similar to the symmetric bouncing model, for the asymmetric bouncing model SCS are unavoidable for inhomogeneous dust profiles. In contrast, for models without a bounce and with unbounded polymerization functions, no SCS form for inhomogeneous, decreasing dust profiles -- a situation that resembles classical theory, in which SCS can also be avoided by a suitable choice of initial data.

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arXiv2026

Investigation of the gravitational dust collapse of the LQG-inspired effective asymmetric bounce model

We investigate gravitational dust collapse within an effective loop quantum gravity (LQG)-inspired model exhibiting an asymmetric bounce in the marginally bound case. This work extends previous studies, which have predominantly focused on models with either symmetric bounces or asymmetric bounces restricted to homogeneous dust configurations. Our analysis emphasises the phenomenological implications of the model through a combination of analytical and numerical investigations, with particular attention to singularity resolution and the formation of trapped surfaces. As in symmetric bounce models, the central curvature singularity inside the collapsing dust cloud is resolved. However, in contrast to the symmetric case, we find that a singularity emerges in the polymerised vacuum region during the bounce phase. This singularity can be identified as a shell-crossing singularity and exhibits the expected power-law behaviour of curvature scalars. Furthermore, likewise to the symmetric bounce models, we find a critical mass threshold governing the formation of inner and outer horizons in the pre-bounce phase. No analogous critical mass restriction arises for the formation of the inner horizon in the post-bounce phase, highlighting a qualitative difference between the pre- and post-bounce dynamics.

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arXiv2026

Area Scaling of Dynamical Degrees of Freedom in Regularised Scalar Field Theory

How many canonical degrees of freedom does a quantum field theory actually use during its Hamiltonian evolution? For a UV/IR-regularised classical scalar field, we address this question directly at the level of phase-space dynamics by identifying the minimal symplectic dimension required to reproduce a single trajectory by an autonomous Hamiltonian system. Using symplectic model order reduction as a structure-preserving diagnostic, we show that for the free scalar field this minimal dimension is controlled not by the volume-extensive number of discretised field variables, but by the much smaller number of distinct normal-mode frequencies below the ultraviolet cutoff. In flat space, this leads to an area-type scaling with the size of the region, up to slowly varying corrections. On geodesic balls in maximally symmetric curved spaces, positive curvature induces mild super-area growth, while negative curvature suppresses the scaling, with the flat result recovered smoothly in the small-curvature limit. Numerical experiments further indicate that this behaviour persists in weakly interacting $\lambda\phi^4$ theory over quasi-integrable time scales. Beyond counting, the reduced dynamics exhibits a distinctive internal structure: it decomposes into independent oscillator blocks, while linear combinations of these blocks generate a larger family of apparent field modes whose Poisson brackets are governed by a projector rather than the identity. This reveals a purely classical and dynamical mechanism by which overlapping degrees of freedom arise, without modifying canonical structures by hand. Our results provide a controlled field-theoretic setting in which area-type scaling and overlap phenomena can be studied prior to quantisation, helping to identify which aspects of such structures--often discussed in holographic contexts--can already arise from classical Hamiltonian dynamics.

hep-th↗

arXiv2026

A gravitationally induced decoherence model for photons in the context of the relational formalism

We formulate a model of gravitationally induced decoherence for photons starting from Maxwell theory coupled to linearised gravity, expressed in terms of Ashtekar-Barbero variables and treated as an open quantum field theoretic system. In contrast to quantum mechanical models, the interaction between the system (Maxwell field) and the environment (gravitational field) is not postulated phenomenologically, but is instead dictated by the underlying action in a post-Minkowskian approximation. This framework extends earlier models for a scalar field and enables a more detailed analysis of the role of dynamical reference fields (clocks) within the relational formalism. We show that, for a suitable choice of geometrical clocks together with a U(1)-Gauss clock, and by employing an appropriate combination of the observable map and its dual, the resulting Dirac observables are given directly by the transverse components of the photon field as well as the symmetric-transverse-traceless degrees of freedom of gravitational waves on the linearised phase space of the coupled system. In addition we also compare different choices of Dirac observables and their dynamics. Upon applying a Fock quantisation to the reduced system, we derive the time convolutionless (TCL) master equation, truncated at second order, and analyse its structural properties. These results provide a foundation for further investigations of the decoherence model, including its renormalisation and a detailed study of its one-particle sector, and are found to be structurally consistent with former master equations for photons derived using ADM variables and a specific gauge fixing.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

From Principles to Effective Models: A Constructive Framework for Effective Covariant Actions with a Unique Vacuum Solution

The absence of Birkhoff's theorem in effective quantum gravity models leads to a fundamental ambiguity in the vacuum sector, where a priori no unique vacuum solution exists. As a result, phenomenological investigations of the physical implications of these models have been made more difficult. We address this challenge by establishing a constructive framework which allows to formulate 4D covariant actions from the physical nature of the systems's degrees of freedom, which are dust and gravity, together with two guiding principles. We take advantage of the non-propagating nature of a relational dust clock and the suppression of gravitational waves in spherical symmetry. This structural ultralocality allows for a decomposition of the dynamics into independent LTB shells. We further impose spatial diffeomorphism invariance and a geometric guiding principle, where the latter ensures that a unique and static vacuum solution exists. These assumptions allow to strictly constrain the LTB shell Hamiltonian to a factorised form as well as the static vacuum metric function to a universal form. This constructive framework produces a fully 4D-covariant action that belongs to the class of generalised extended mimetic gravity models. This provides the necessary consistent basis for a perturbation theory in the context of quasi-normal modes or cosmological perturbations beyond the static sector in which quantum gravity effects are also included in linear and higher order perturbations. Furthermore, for this class of models our results resolve the long-standing `curvature polymerisation ambiguity' in loop quantum cosmology by unambiguously determining how flat space modifications are extended to non-flat geometries, thus unifying the description of black holes and cosmology in a single effective framework.

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arXiv2024

Quantum Gravity, Hydrodynamics and Emergent Cosmology: A Collection of Perspectives

This collection of perspective pieces captures recent advancements and reflections from a dynamic research community dedicated to bridging quantum gravity, hydrodynamics, and emergent cosmology. It explores four key research areas: (a) the interplay between hydrodynamics and cosmology, including analog gravity systems; (b) phase transitions, continuum limits and emergent geometry in quantum gravity; (c) relational perspectives in gravity and quantum gravity; and (d) the emergence of cosmological models rooted in quantum gravity frameworks. Each contribution presents the distinct perspectives of its respective authors. Additionally, the introduction by the editors proposes an integrative view, suggesting how these thematic units could serve as foundational pillars for a novel theoretical cosmology framework termed "hydrodynamics on superspace".

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Linking Edge Modes and Geometrical Clocks in Linearized Gravity

Reference frames are crucial for describing local observers in general relativity. In quantum gravity, different proposals exist for how to treat reference frames. There are models with either classical or quantum reference frames. Recently, different choices appeared for investigating these possibilities at the level of the classical and quantum algebra of observables. One choice is based on the covariant phase space approach, using gravitational edge modes. In the canonical approach, there is another choice, relational clocks, built from matter or geometry itself. In this work, we extend existing results and show how to relate edge modes and geometrical clocks in linearized gravity. We proceed in three steps. First, we introduce an extension of the ADM (Arnowitt-Deser-Misner) phase space to account for covariant gauge fixing conditions and the explicit time dependence they add to Hamilton's equations. Second, we show how these gauge fixing conditions recover a specific choice of geometrical clocks in terms of Ashtekar-Barbero connection variables. Third, we study the effect of the Barbero-Immirzi parameter on the generators of asymptotic symmetries and the corresponding charges. This parameter, which disappears from metric gravity, affects the generators for angle-dependent asymptotic symmetries and the corresponding super-translation charges, while it has no effect on the global charges.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Gravitationally induced decoherence of a scalar field: investigating the one-particle sector and its interplay with renormalisation

We investigate the one-particle sector for the field-theoretical model of gravitationally induced decoherence for a scalar field in [1] with a special focus on the renormalisation of the one-particle master equation. In contrast to existing models in the literature, where the renormalisation is usually performed after the Markov and rotating wave approximation and often only for certain limits such as the non- or ultra-relativistic limit, here we apply the renormalisation directly after the one-particle projection. With this strategy, we show that UV-divergent contributions in the one-particle master equation can be identified with the vacuum contributions in the self-energy of the scalar field in the effective quantum field theory and depending on the chosen one-particle projection method, its vacuum bubbles, while the additional thermal contributions in the self-energy are all UV-finite. To obtain the renormalised one-particle master equation, we use an on-shell renormalisation procedure of the underlying effective QFT. We then apply the Markov and rotating wave approximation, specifying a condition under which the Markov approximation can be applied in the case of the ultra-relativistic limit. We compare our results with those available in the literature. This includes an analysis of two different kinds of one-particle projections, a comparison of the application and effects of renormalisation of quantum mechanical and field theoretical models, the non-relativistic and ultra-relativistic limits of the renormalised one-particle master equations, and a comparison with a quantum mechanical toy model for gravitationally induced decoherence in the context of neutrino oscillations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Regular black holes and their relationship to polymerized models and mimetic gravity

We present further applications of the formalism introduced by the authors in arXiv:2308.10949, which allows embedding of a broad class of generalized LTB models into effective spherically symmetric spacetimes. We focus on regular black hole models, where a broad class of models can be considered, including for example LQG-inspired models as well as the model with a regular center, e.g. of Bardeen and Hayward. For a certain class of regular black hole models, we can formulate a Birkhoff-like theorem in LTB coordinates. We further show that depending on the properties of the polymerization functions characterizing such regular black hole models in this formalism, the uniqueness of the effective spherically symmetric vacuum solutions might not be given in general in Schwarzschild-like coordinates. Furthermore, we introduce a reconstruction algorithm that allows for a subclass of this models to construct from a given metric in Schwarzschild-like coordinates the corresponding effective spherically symmetric model, its dynamics as an 1+1-dimensional field theory as well as a corresponding covariant Lagrangian of extended mimetic gravity in four dimensions. Such a reconstruction allows us to obtain Lagrangians of extended mimetic gravity models for black holes with a regular center, e.g. the Bardeen and Hayward metric as well as for effective LQG inspired models. Moreover, the reconstruction enables us to extend regular black hole models to general inhomogeneous dust collapse models. For the latter, within this formalism, we can investigate and look at the physical properties of the models such as the existence of weak shell-crossing singularities from a novel perspective.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Understanding gravitationally induced decoherence parameters in neutrino oscillations using a microscopic quantum mechanical model

In this work, a microscopic quantum mechanical model for gravitationally induced decoherence introduced by Blencowe and Xu is investigated in the context of neutrino oscillations. The focus is on the comparison with existing phenomenological models and the physical interpretation of the decoherence parameters in such models. The results show that for neutrino oscillations in vacuum gravitationally induced decoherence can be matched with phenomenological models with decoherence parameters of the form $\Gamma_{ij}\sim \Delta m^4_{ij}E^{-2}$. When matter effects are included, the decoherence parameters exhibit a dependence on the varying matter density across the Earth layers. This behavior can be explained by the nature of the coupling between neutrinos and the gravitational wave environment, as suggested by linearised gravity. On a theoretical level, these different models can be characterised by a different choice of Lindblad operators, with the model with decoherence parameters that do not include matter effects being less suitable from the point of view of linearised gravity. Consequently, in the case of neutrino oscillations in matter, the microscopic model does not agree with many existing phenomenological models that assume constant decoherence parameters in matter. Nonetheless, we identify the KamLAND experimental setup as particularly well-suited to establish the first experimental constraints on the model parameters, namely the neutrino coupling to the gravitational wave environment and its temperature, based on a prior analysis using the phenomenological model.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Embedding generalized LTB models in polymerized spherically symmetric spacetimes

We generalize the existing works on the way (generalized) LTB models can be embedded into polymerized spherically symmetric models in several aspects. We re-examine such an embedding at the classical level and show that a suitable LTB condition can only be treated as a gauge fixing in the non-marginally bound case, while in the marginally bound case it must be considered as an additional first class constraint. A novel aspect of our formalism, based on the effective equations of motion, is to derive compatible dynamics LTB conditions for polymerized models by using holonomy and inverse triad corrections simultaneously, whereas in earlier work these were only considered separately. Further, our formalism allows to derive compatible LTB conditions for a vast of class of polymerized models available in the current literature. Within this broader class of polymerizations there are effective models contained for which the classical LTB condition is a compatible one. Our results show that there exist a class of effective models for which the dynamics decouples completely along the radial direction. It turns out that this subsector is strongly linked to the property that in the temporally gauge fixed model, the algebra of the geometric contribution to the Hamiltonian constraint and the spatial diffeomorphism constraint is closed. We finally apply the formalism to existing models from the literature and compare our results to the existing ones.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Generalized analysis of a dust collapse in effective loop quantum gravity: fate of shocks and covariance

Based on modifications inspired from loop quantum gravity (LQG), spherically symmetric models have recently been explored to understand the resolution of classical singularities and the fate of the spacetime beyond. While such phenomenological studies have provided useful insights, questions remain on whether such models exhibit some of the desired properties such as consistent LTB conditions, covariance and compatibility with the improved dynamics of loop quantum cosmology in the cosmological and LTB sectors. We provide a systematic procedure to construct effective spherically symmetric models encoding LQG modifications as a $1+1$ field theory models encoding these properties following the analysis in our companion paper. As concrete examples of our generalized strategy we obtain and compare with different phenomenological models which have been investigated recently and demonstrate resolution of singularity by quantum geometry effects via a bounce. These include models with areal gauge fixing, a polymerized vacuum solution, polymerized junction conditions and an Oppenheimer-Snyder dust collapse model. An important insight from our approach is that the dynamical equations care about the $\det(e)$ part rather than the square root of the determinant of the spatial metric. As a result, shock solutions which have been argued to exist in some models are found to be absent even if one considers coordinate transformations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

A reduced phase space quantisation of a model in Algebraic Quantum Gravity with polarised $T^3$ Gowdy symmetry

We consider a reduced phase space quantisation of a model with $T^3$ Gowdy symmetry in which gravity has been coupled to Gaussian dust. We complete the quantisation programme in reduced loop quantum gravity (LQG) as well as algebraic quantum gravity (AQG) and derive a Schrödinger-like equation with a physical Hamiltonian operator encoding the dynamics. Due to the classical symmetries of the physical Hamiltonian, the operators are quantised in a graph-preserving way in both cases -- a difference to former models available in the literature. As a first step towards applications of the model in AQG, we consider an ansatz that we use to first construct zero volume states as specific solutions of the Schrödiger-like equation. We then also find states with a vanishing action of the Euclidean part of the physical Hamiltonian and investigate the degeneracies these states experience via the action of the Lorentzian part of the physical Hamiltonian. The results presented here can be taken as a starting point for deriving effective models as well as analysing the dynamics numerically in future work.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Hamiltonian Theory: Dynamics

This chapter focuses on the status of the implementation of the dynamics in the canonical version of Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG). Concretely this means to provide a mathematical meaning of the quantum Einstein equations, sometimes called Wheeler-DeWitt equations, to give a physical interpretation and Hilbert space structure to its solutions and to construct a representation of the algebra of observables including a physical Hamiltonian. This is a structural overview intentionally skipping technical details.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Dynamically implementing the $\overlineμ$-scheme in cosmological and spherically symmetric models in an extended phase space model

We consider an extended phase space formulation for cosmological and spherically symmetric models in which the choice of a given $\overlineμ$-scheme can be implemented dynamically. These models are constructed in the context of the relational formalism by using a canonical transformation on the extended phase space which provides a Kuchař decomposition of the extended phase space. The resulting model can be understood as a gauge-unfixed model of a given $\overlineμ$-scheme. We use this formalism to investigate the restrictions to the allowed $\overlineμ$-scheme from this perspective and discuss the differences in the cosmological and spherically symmetric case. This method can be useful, for example, to obtain a $\overlineμ$-scheme in a top-down derivation from full LQG to symmetry reduced effective models, where for some models only the $μ_0$-scheme has been obtained so far.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

An open scattering model in polymerized quantum mechanics

We derive a quantum master equation in the context of a polymerized open quantum mechanical system for the scattering of a Brownian particle in an ideal gas environment. The model is formulated in a top-down approach by choosing a Hamiltonian with a coupling between the system and environment that is generally associated with spatial decoherence. We extend the existing work on such models by using a non-standard representation of the canonical commutation relations, inspired by the quantization procedure applied in loop quantum gravity, which yields a model in which position operators are replaced by holonomies. The derivation of the master equation in a top-down approach opens up the possibility to investigate in detail whether the assumptions, usually used in such models in order to obtain a tractable form of the dissipator, hold also in the polymerized case or whether they need to be dropped or modified. Furthermore, we discuss some physical properties of the master equation associated to effective equations for the expectation values of the fundamental operators and compare our results to the already existing models of collisional decoherence.

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