arXiv subjects

Marios Christodoulou

Publications and source records attributed to Marios Christodoulou.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Gravity entanglement, quantum reference systems, degrees of freedom

We discuss the physical interpretation of the gravity mediated entanglement effect. We show how to read it in terms of quantum reference systems. We pinpoint the single gravitational degree of freedom mediating the entanglement. We clarify why the distinction between longitudinal and transverse degrees of freedom is irrelevant for the interpretation of the results. We discuss the relation between the LOCC theorem and the interpretation of the effect, its different relevance for, respectively, the quantum gravity and quantum information communities, and the reason for the excitement raised by the prospect of detection.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Photonic Implementation of Quantum Gravity Simulator

Detecting gravity mediated entanglement can provide evidence that the gravitational field obeys quantum mechanics. We report the result of a simulation of the phenomenon using a photonic platform. The simulation tests the idea of probing the quantum nature of a variable by using it to mediate entanglement, and yields theoretical and experimental insights. We employed three methods to test the presence of entanglement: Bell test, entanglement witness and quantum state tomography. We also simulate the alternative scenario predicted by gravitational collapse models or due to imperfections in the experimental setup and use quantum state tomography to certify the absence of entanglement. Two main lessons arise from the simulation: 1) which--path information must be first encoded and subsequently coherently erased from the gravitational field, 2) performing a Bell test leads to stronger conclusions, certifying the existence of gravity mediated nonlocality.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Non-Gaussianity as a signature of a quantum theory of gravity

Table-top tests of quantum gravity (QG) have long been thought to be practically impossible. However, remarkably, due to rapid progress in quantum information science (QIS), such tests may soon be achievable. Here, we uncover an exciting new theoretical link between QG and QIS that also leads to a radical new way of testing QG with QIS experiments. Specifically, we find that only a quantum, not classical, theory of gravity can create non-Gaussianity, a QIS resource that is necessary for universal quantum computation, in the quantum field state of matter. This allows for tests based on QIS in which non-Gaussianity in matter is used as a signature of QG. In comparison to previous studies of testing QG with QIS where entanglement is used to witness QG when all other quantum interactions are excluded, our non-Gaussianity witness cannot be created by direct classical gravity interactions, facilitating tests that are not constrained by the existence of such processes. Our new signature of QG also enables tests that are based on just a single rather than multi-partite quantum system, simplifying previously considered experimental setups. We describe a table-top test of QG that uses our non-Gaussianity signature and which is based on just a single quantum system, a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), in a single location. In contrast to proposals based on opto-mechanical setups, BECs have already been manipulated into massive non-classical states, aiding the prospect of testing QG in the near future.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

The End of a Black Hole's Evaporation -- Part I

At the end of Hawking evaporation, the horizon of a black hole enters a physical region where quantum gravity cannot be neglected. The physics of this region has not been much explored. We characterise its physics and introduce a technique to study it.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

On the possibility of laboratory evidence for quantum superposition of geometries

We analyze the recent proposal of measuring a quantum gravity phenomenon in the lab by entangling two particles gravitationally. We give a generally covariant description of this phenomenon, where the relevant effect turns out to be a quantum superposition of proper times. We point out that measurement of this effect would count as evidence for quantum superposition of spacetime geometries. This interpretation addresses objections appeared in the literature. We observe that the effect sheds light on the Planck mass, and argue that it is very plausibly a real effect.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

On the possibility of experimental detection of the discreteness of time

The Bose-Marletto-Vedral experiment tests a non-relativistic quantum effect due to a gravitational interaction. It has received attention because it may soon be within observational reach in the lab. We observe here that: (i) in relativistic language the experiment tests an interference effect between proper-time intervals; (ii) the relevant difference of proper times is of the order of the Planck time if the masses of the particles in the experiment are of the order of the Planck mass (micrograms); (iii) the experiment might open a window on the structure of time at the Planck scale: if time differences are discrete at this scale ---as quantum gravity research may suggest--- the Planckian discreteness of time could show up as quantum levels of a measurable entanglement entropy.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Volume Entropy

Building on a technical result by Brunnemann and Rideout on the spectrum of the Volume operator in Loop Quantum Gravity, we show that the dimension of the space of the quadrivalent, diffeomorphism invariant states with no zero-volume nodes describing a region with total volume smaller than $V$, has \emph{finite} dimension, bounded by $V \log V$. This allows us to introduce the notion of "volume entropy" for this phase space: the von Neumann entropy associated to the measurement of volume.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Reflection positivity in nonlocal gravity

Contrary to recent claims in the literature, a simple test for reflection positivite, which we call perturbative reflection positivity in the coincidence limit, is shown to be satisfied for nonlocal field theories. Particular attention is given to weakly nonlocal gravity and gauge theories.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Geometry Transition in Covariant Loop Quantum Gravity

In this manuscript we present a calculation of a physical observable in a non-perturbative quantum gravitational physical process from covariant Loop Quantum Gravity. The process regards the transition of a trapped region to an anti--trapped region, treated as a quantum geometry transition akin to gravitational tunneling. Figuratively speaking, this is a quantum transition of a black hole to a white hole. The physical observables are the characteristic timescales in which the process takes place. After an introduction, we begin with two chapters that review, define and extend main tools relevant to Lorentzian spinfoams and their semiclassical limit. We then dedicate a chapter to the classical exterior spacetime, which provides the setup for the problem. In the last two chapters, we arrive at an explicit, analytically well-defined and finite expression for a transition amplitude describing this process and use the semiclassical approximation to estimate the relevant amplitudes for an arbitrary choice of boundary conditions. We conclude that the transition is predicted to be allowed by LQG, with a characteristic duration that is linear in the mass, when the process takes place. The probability for the process to take place is exponentially suppressed but non-zero, resulting to a long lifetime.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

White Holes as Remnants: A Surprising Scenario for the End of a Black Hole

Quantum tunneling of a black hole into a white hole provides a model for the full life cycle of a black hole. The white hole acts as a long-lived remnant, solving the black-hole information paradox. The remnant solution of the paradox has long been viewed with suspicion, mostly because remnants seemed to be such exotic objects. We point out that (i) established physics includes objects with precisely the required properties for remnants: white holes with small masses but large finite interiors; (ii) non-perturbative quantum-gravity indicates that a black hole tunnels precisely into such a white hole, at the end of its evaporation. We address the objections to the existence of white-hole remnants, discuss their stability, and show how the notions of entropy relevant in this context allow them to evade several no-go arguments. A black hole's formation, evaporation, tunneling to a white hole, and final slow decay, form a unitary process that does not violate any known physics.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

On the volume inside old black holes

Black holes that have nearly evaporated are often thought of as small objects, due to their tiny exterior area. However, the horizon bounds large spacelike hypersurfaces. A compelling geometric perspective on the evolution of the interior geometry was recently shown to be provided by a generally covariant definition of the volume inside a black hole using maximal surfaces. In this article, we expand on previous results and show that finding the maximal surfaces in an arbitrary spherically symmetric spacetime is equivalent to a 1+1 geodesic problem. We then study the effect of Hawking radiation on the volume by computing the volume of maximal surfaces inside the apparent horizon of an evaporating black hole as a function of time at infinity: while the area is shrinking, the volume of these surfaces grows monotonically with advanced time, up to when the horizon has reached Planckian dimensions. The physical relevance of these results for the information paradox and the remnant scenarios are discussed.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

Realistic Observable in Background-Free Quantum Gravity: the Planck-Star Tunnelling-Time

A gravitationally collapsed object can bounce-out from its horizon via a tunnelling process that violates the classical equations in a finite region. Since tunnelling is a non-perturbative phenomenon, it cannot be described in terms of quantum fluctuations around a classical solution and a background-free formulation of quantum gravity is needed to analyze it. Here we use Loop Quantum Gravity to compute the amplitude for this process, in a first approximation. The amplitude determines the tunnelling time as a function of the mass. This is the key information to evaluate the astrophysical relevance of this process. The calculation offers a template and a concrete example of how a background-free quantum theory of gravity can be used to compute a realistical observable quantity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

How big is a black hole?

The 3d volume inside a spherical black hole can be defined by extending an intrinsic flat-spacetime characterization of the volume inside a 2-sphere. For a collapsed object, the volume grows with time since the collapse, reaching a simple asymptotic form, which has a compelling geometrical interpretation. Perhaps surprising, it is large. The result may have relevance for the discussion on the information paradox.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Divergences and Orientation in Spinfoams

We suggest that large radiative corrections appearing in the spinfoam framework might be tied to the implicit sum over orientations. Specifically, we show that in a suitably simplified context the characteristic "spike" divergence of the Ponzano-Regge model disappears when restricting the theory to just one of the two orientations appearing in the asymptotic limit of the vertex amplitude.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

How to detect an anti-spacetime

Is it possible, in principle, to measure the sign of the Lapse? We show that fermion dynamics distinguishes spacetimes having the same metric but different tetrads, for instance a Lapse with opposite sign. This sign might be a physical quantity not captured by the metric. We discuss its possible role in quantum gravity.

gr-qc↗