arXiv subjects

Steven B. Giddings

Publications and source records attributed to Steven B. Giddings.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Gravitational wave tests of quantum modifications to black hole structure -- with post-GW150914 update

A preliminary discussion is given of the prospects that gravitational-wave observations of binary inspiral of black holes could reveal or constrain quantum modifications to black hole dynamics, such as are required to preserve postulates of quantum mechanics. Different proposals for such modifications are characterized by different scales, and the size of these scales relative to those probed by observation of inspiral signals is important in determining the feasibility of finding experimental signatures. Certain scenarios with strong quantum modifications in a region extending well outside the horizon are expected to modify classical evolution, and distort the near-peak gravitational wave signal, suggesting a search for departures from waveforms predicted by general relativity. The near agreement of the GW150914 signal with such waveforms is discussed, and indicates constraints on some such scenarios. Important strategies for more precise future tests are 1) to develop more precise predictions from scenarios proposing quantum modifications, and 2) searching for observed deviations from numerical relativity predictions via analysis of gravity wave data, particularly focussing on the signal region corresponding to plunge and merger.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

Nonviolent information transfer from black holes: a field theory parameterization

A candidate parameterization is introduced, in an effective field theory framework, for the quantum information transfer from a black hole that is necessary to restore unitarity. This in particular allows description of the effects of this information transfer in the black hole atmosphere, for example seen by infalling observers. In the presence of such information transfer, it is shown that infalling observers need not experience untoward violence. Moreover, the presence of general moderate-frequency couplings to field modes with high angular momenta offers a mechanism to enhance information transfer rates, commensurate with the increased energy flux, when a string is introduced to "mine" a black hole. Generic such models for nonviolent information transfer predict extra energy flux from a black hole, beyond that of Hawking.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Constraints on a fine-grained AdS/CFT correspondence

For a boundary CFT to give a good approximation to the bulk flat-space S-matrix, a number of conditions need to be satisfied: some of those are investigated here. In particular, one would like to identify an appropriate set of approximate asymptotic scattering states, constructed purely via boundary data. We overview, elaborate, and simplify obstacles encountered with existing proposals for these. Those corresponding to normalizable wavefunctions undergo multiple interactions; we contrast this situation with that needed for a flat-space LSZ treatment. Non-normalizable wavefunctions can have spurious interactions, due either to power-law tails of wavepackets or to their non-normalizable behavior, which obscure S-matrix amplitudes we wish to extract; although in the latter case we show that such gravitational interactions can be finite, as a result of gravitational red shift. We outline an illustrative construction of arbitrary normalizable wavepackets from boundary data, that also yields such spurious interactions. Another set of non-trivial questions regard the form of unitarity relations for the bulk S-matrix, and in particular its normalization and multi-particle cuts. These combined constraints, together with those found earlier on boundary singularity structure needed for bulk momentum conservation and other physical/analytic properties, are a non-trivial collection of obstacles to surmount if a fine-grained S-matrix, as opposed to a coarse-grained construction, is to be defined purely from boundary data.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Gravity and Information

Various contenders for a complete theory of quantum gravity are at odds with each other. This is in particular seen in the ways they relate to information and black holes, and how to effectively treat quantization of the background spacetime. Modern perspectives on black hole evaporation suggest that quantum gravity effects in the near-horizon region can perturb the local geometry. The approaches differ, however, in the time scale on which one can expect these effects to become important. This panel session presents three points of view on these problems, and considers the ultimate prospect of observational tests in the near future.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Observational strong gravity and quantum black hole structure

Quantum considerations have led many theorists to believe that classical black hole physics is modified not just deep inside black holes but at {\it horizon scales}, or even further outward. The near-horizon regime has just begun to be observationally probed for astrophysical black holes -- both by LIGO, and by the Event Horizon Telescope. This suggests exciting prospects for observational constraints on or discovery of new quantum black hole structure. This paper overviews arguments for certain such structure and these prospects.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

Diffeomorphism-invariant observables and their nonlocal algebra

Gauge-invariant observables for quantum gravity are described, with explicit constructions given primarily to leading order in Newton's constant, analogous to and extending constructions first given by Dirac in quantum electrodynamics. These can be thought of as operators that create a particle, together with its inseparable gravitational field, and reduce to usual field operators of quantum field theory in the weak-gravity limit; they include both Wilson-line operators, and those creating a Coulombic field configuration. We also describe operators creating the field of a particle in motion; as in the electromagnetic case, these are expected to help address infrared problems. An important characteristic of the quantum theory of gravity is the algebra of its observables. We show that the commutators of the simple observables of this paper are nonlocal, with nonlocality becoming significant in strong field regions, as predicted previously on general grounds.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

The gravitational S-matrix: Erice lectures

These lectures discuss an S-matrix approach to quantum gravity, and its relation to more local spacetime approaches. Prominent among the problems of quantum gravity are those of unitarity and observables. In a unitary theory with solutions approximating Minkowski space, the S-matrix (or, in four dimensions, related inclusive probabilities) should be sharply formulated and physical. Features of its perturbative description are reviewed. A successful quantum gravity theory should in particular address the questions posed by the ultrahigh-energy regime. Some control can be gained in this regime by varying the impact parameter as well as the collision energy. However, with decreasing impact parameter gravity becomes strong, first eikonalizing, and then entering the regime where in the classical approximation black holes form. Here one confronts what may be the most profound problem of quantum gravity, that of providing unitary amplitudes, as seen through the information problem of black hole evaporation. Existing approaches to quantum gravity leave a number of unanswered questions in this regime; there are strong indications that new principles and mechanisms are needed, and in particular there is a good case that usual notions of locality are inaccurate. One approach to these questions is investigation of the approximate local dynamics of spacetime, its observables, and its limitations; another is to directly explore properties of the gravitational S-matrix, such as analyticity, crossing, and others implied by gravitational physics.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Kaluza-Klein graviton phenomenology for warped compactifications, and the 750 GeV diphoton excess

A generic prediction of scenarios with extra dimensions accessible in TeV-scale collisions is the existence of Kaluza-Klein excitations of the graviton. For a broad class of strongly-warped scenarios one expects to initially find an isolated resonance, whose phenomenology in the simplest cases is described by a simplified model with two parameters, its mass, and a constant $Λ$ with units of mass parameterizing its coupling to the Standard Model stress tensor. These parameters are in turn determined by the geometrical configuration of the warped compactification. We explore the possibility that the 750 GeV excess recently seen in 13 TeV data at ATLAS and CMS could be such a warped Kaluza-Klein graviton, and find a best-fit value $Λ\approx 60$ TeV. We find that while there is some tension between this interpretation and data from 8 TeV and from the dilepton channel at 13 TeV, it is not strongly excluded. However, in the simplest scenarios of this kind, such a signal should soon become apparent in both diphoton and dilepton channels.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Hawking radiation, the Stefan-Boltzmann law, and unitarization

Where does Hawking radiation originate? A common picture is that it arises from excitations very near or at the horizon, and this viewpoint has supported the "firewall" argument and arguments for a key role for the UV-dependent entanglement entropy in describing the quantum mechanics of black holes. However, closer investigation of both the total emission rate and the stress tensor of Hawking radiation supports the statement that its source is a near-horizon quantum region, or "atmosphere," whose radial extent is set by the horizon radius scale. This is potentially important, since Hawking radiation needs to be modified to restore unitarity, and a natural assumption is that the scales relevant to such modifications are comparable to those governing the Hawking radiation. Moreover, related discussion suggests a resolution to questions regarding extra energy flux in "nonviolent" scenarios, that does not spoil black hole thermodynamics as governed by the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

Hilbert space structure in quantum gravity: an algebraic perspective

If quantum gravity respects the principles of quantum mechanics, suitably generalized, it may be that a more viable approach to the theory is through identifying the relevant quantum structures rather than by quantizing classical spacetime. This viewpoint is supported by difficulties of such quantization, and by the apparent lack of a fundamental role for locality. In finite or discrete quantum systems, important structure is provided by tensor factorizations of the Hilbert space. However, even in local quantum field theory properties of the generic type III von Neumann algebras and of long range gauge fields indicate that factorization of the Hilbert space is problematic. Instead it is better to focus on the structure of the algebra of observables, and in particular on its subalgebras corresponding to regions. This paper suggests that study of analogous algebraic structure in gravity gives an important perspective on the nature of the quantum theory. Significant departures from the subalgebra structure of local quantum field theory are found, working in the correspondence limit of long-distances/low-energies. Particularly, there are obstacles to identifying commuting algebras of localized operators. In addition to suggesting important properties of the algebraic structure, this and related observations pose challenges to proposals of a fundamental role for entanglement.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Possible observational windows for quantum effects from black holes

Quantum information transfer necessary to reconcile black hole evaporation with quantum mechanics, while approximately preserving regular near-horizon geometry, can be simply parameterized in terms of couplings of the black hole internal state to quantum fields of the black hole atmosphere. The necessity of transferring sufficient information for unitarization sets the strengths of these couplings. Such couplings via the stress tensor offer apparently significant advantages, and behave like quantum fluctuations of the effective metric near the horizon. At the requisite strength, these fluctuations, while soft (low energy/momentum), have significant magnitude, and so can deflect near-horizon geodesics that span distances of order the black hole radius. Thus, the presence of such couplings can result in effects that could be detected or constrained by observation: disruption of near-horizon accretion flows, scintillation of light passing close to the black hole, and alteration of gravitational wave emission from inspirals. These effects could in particular distort features of Sgr A* expected to be observed, e.g., by the Event Horizon Telescope, such as the black hole shadow and photon ring.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Modulated Hawking radiation and a nonviolent channel for information release

Unitarization of black hole evaporation requires that quantum information escapes a black hole; an important question is to identify the mechanism or channel by which it does so. Accurate counting of black hole states via the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy would indicate this information should be encoded in radiation with average energy flux matching Hawking's. Information can be encoded with no change in net flux via fine-grained modulation of the Hawking radiation. In an approximate effective field theory description, couplings to the stress tensor of the black hole atmosphere that depend on the internal state of the black hole are a promising alternative for inducing such modulation. These can be picturesquely thought of as due to state-dependent metric fluctuations in the vicinity of the horizon. Such couplings offer the prospect of emitting information without extra energy flux, and can be shown to do so at linear order in the couplings, with motivation given for possible extension of this result to higher orders. The potential advantages of such couplings to the stress tensor thus extend beyond their universality, which is helpful in addressing constraints from black hole mining.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Higgs-flavon mixing and LHC phenomenology in a simplified model of broken flavor symmetry

The LHC phenomenology of a low-scale gauged flavor symmetry model with inverted hierarchy is studied, through introduction of a simplified model of broken flavor symmetry. A new scalar (a flavon) and a new neutral top-philic massive gauge boson emerge with mass in the TeV range along with a new heavy fermion associated with the standard model top quark. After checking constraints from electroweak precision observables, we investigate the influence of the model on Higgs boson physics, notably on its production cross section and decay branching fractions. Limits on the flavon $φ$ from heavy Higgs boson searches at the LHC at 7 and 8 TeV are presented. The branching fractions of the flavon are computed as a function of the flavon mass and the Higgs-flavon mixing angle. We also explore possible discovery of the flavon at 14 TeV, particularly via the $φ\rightarrow Z^0Z^0$ decay channel in the $2\ell2\ell'$ final state, and through standard model Higgs boson pair production $φ\rightarrow hh$ in the $b\bar{b}γγ$ final state. We conclude that the flavon mass range up to $500$ GeV could probed down to quite small values of the Higgs-flavon mixing angle with 100 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity at 14 TeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Black holes, quantum information, and unitary evolution

The unitary crisis for black holes indicates an apparent need to modify local quantum field theory. This paper explores the idea that quantum mechanics and in particular unitarity are fundamental principles, but at the price of familiar locality. Thus, one should seek to parameterize unitary evolution, extending the field theory description of black holes, such that their quantum information is transferred to the external state. This discussion is set in a broader framework of unitary evolution acting on Hilbert spaces comprising subsystems. Here, various constraints can be placed on the dynamics, based on quantum information-theoretic and other general physical considerations, and one can seek to describe dynamics with "minimal" departure from field theory. While usual spacetime locality may not be a precise concept in quantum gravity, approximate locality seems an important ingredient in physics. In such a Hilbert space approach an apparently "coarser" form of localization can be described in terms of tensor decompositions of the Hilbert space of the complete system. This suggests a general framework in which to seek a consistent description of quantum gravity, and approximate emergence of spacetime. Other possible aspects of such a framework -- in particular symmetries -- are briefly discussed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Effective field theory models for nonviolent information transfer from black holes

Transfer of quantum information from the interior of a black hole to its atmosphere is described, in models based on effective field theory. This description illustrates that such transfer need not be violent to the semiclassical geometry or to infalling observers, and in particular can avoid producing a singular horizon or "firewall." One can specifically quantify the rate of information transfer, and show that a rate necessary to unitarize black hole evaporation produces a relatively mild modification to the stress tensor near the horizon. In an exterior description of the transfer, the new interactions responsible for it are approximated by "effective sources" acting on fields in the black hole atmosphere. If the necessary interactions couple to general modes in the black hole atmosphere, one also finds a straightforward mechanism for information transfer rates to increase when a black hole is mined, avoiding paradoxical behavior. Correspondence limits are discussed, in the presence of such new interactions, for both small black holes and large ones; the near-horizon description of the latter is approximately that of Rindler space.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Nonviolent nonlocality

If quantum mechanics governs nature, black holes must evolve unitarily, providing a powerful constraint on the dynamics of quantum gravity. Such evolution apparently must in particular be nonlocal, when described from the usual semiclassical geometric picture, in order to transfer quantum information into the outgoing state. While such transfer from a disintegrating black hole has the dangerous potential to be violent to generic infalling observers, this paper proposes the existence of a more innocuous form of information transfer, to relatively soft modes in the black hole atmosphere. Simplified models for such nonlocal transfer are described and parameterized, within a possibly more basic framework of a Hilbert tensor network. Sufficiently sensitive measurements by infalling observers may detect departures from Hawking's predictions, and in generic models black holes decay more rapidly. Constraints of consistency -- internally and with known and expected features of physics -- restrict the form of information transfer, and should provide important guides to discovery of the principles and mechanisms of the more fundamental nonlocal mechanics.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Statistical physics of black holes as quantum-mechanical systems

Some basic features of black-hole statistical mechanics are investigated, assuming that black holes respect the principles of quantum mechanics. Care is needed in defining an entropy S_bh corresponding to the number of microstates of a black hole, given that the black hole interacts with its surroundings. An open question is then the relationship between this entropy and the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy S_BH. For a wide class of models with interactions needed to ensure unitary quantum evolution, these interactions produce extra energy flux beyond that predicted by Hawking. Arguments are then presented that this results in an entropy S_bh that is smaller than S_BH. Correspondingly, in such scenarios equilibrium properties of black holes are modified. We examine questions of consistency of such an inequality; if it is not consistent, that provides significant constraints on models for quantum-mechanical black hole evolution.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Quantum information transfer and models for black hole mechanics

General features of information transfer between quantum subsystems, via unitary evolution, are investigated, with applications to the problem of information transfer from a black hole to its surroundings. A particularly direct form of quantum information transfer is "subspace transfer," which can be characterized by saturation of a subadditivity inequality. We also describe more general unitary quantum information transfer, and categorize different models for black hole evolution. Evolution that only creates paired excitations inside/outside the black hole is shown not to extract information, but information-transferring models exist both in the "saturating" and "non-saturating" category. The former more closely capture thermodynamic behavior; the latter generically have enhanced energy flux, beyond that of Hawking.

hep-th↗