Dynamical dimensional reduction and Asymptotic Safety The effective average action approach to Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG) is discussed as a natural framework for exploring the scale dependent Riemannian geometry and multifractal micro-structure of the effective spacetimes predicted by QEG. Their fractal properties are related to the functional RG flow on theory space, and the special role of the running cosmological constant is emphasized. The prospects of an experimental verification will also be discussed. _____________________________ Vanishing dimension: theory and phenomenology Lower-dimensionality at higher energies has manifold theoretical
advantages as recently pointed out. Moreover, it appears that
experimental evidence may already exists for it - a statistically
significant planar alignment of events with energies higher than TeV has
been observed in some earlier cosmic ray experiments. If this alignment
is not a fluke, then the LHC should be able to see effects associated
with the dimensional crossover. Further, (2+1)-dimensional spacetimes
have no gravitational degrees of freedom, and gravity waves cannot be
produced in that epoch in the early universe. This places a universal
maximum frequency at which primordial gravity waves can propagate, which
may be accessible to future gravitational wave detectors such as LISA.
In this talk, the theoretical motivation for "vanishing dimensions" as
well as generic experimental and observational signature will be
discussed
Modelling continuum dynamics on
discrete space time We will discuss perfect discretizations which aim at mirroring exactly continuum physics on a given lattice. Such discretizations avoid typical artifacts like Lorentz violation, energy dissipation, particle doubling and in particular breaking of diffeomorphism symmetry. Thus the question arises how to distinguish such lattice dynamics from continuum physics.
____________________________ Turning Weyl’s tile argument into
a mathematically rigorous no-go
theorem Weyl's tile argument notes that if space was fundamentally discrete then the set of allowed velocities of a classical particle would not be isotropic. I will generalize Weyl's heuristic argument to a no-go theorem applying to any discrete periodic structure. Since this theorem does not take quantum mechanics into account it should only be regarded as the first step of a program of understanding the phenomenology of discrete spacetimes in a mathematically rigorous way.See arXiv:1109.1963
____________________________ On the Observability of Discrete Spatial
Geometry If quantum geometry is an accurate model of microscopic spatial geometry then two related questions arise, one observational and one theoretical: How and at what scale is the discreteness manifest? And, how is the general relativistic limit achieved? These questions will be discussed in the context of studies of a single atom of geometry. It will be shown that the effective scale of the discreteness could be much larger than the Planck scale. Before this scale can be predicted, the relations between discrete geometry, coherent states, and the semiclassical limit need to be clarified. Work towards this goal, using coherent states in spin foams and the spin geometry theorem of Penrose and Moussouris will be described.
______________________________ Asymptotic safety and minimal length Since asymptotic safety - if true - would make a quantum field theory of gavity consistent "up to arbitrarily high energy", it would seem that this notion is incompatible with the existence of a minimal length. I will argue that this is not necessarily the case, due to ambiguity in the notion of minimal length.
Dark Matter and Dark Energy as a Possible Manifestation of a Fundamental Scale If we take the idea of the Planck length as a fundamental (minimum) scale and if additionally we impose the Cosmological Constant ($Lambda$) as and infrared (IR) cut-off parameter. Then it is possible to demonstrate that Dark Matter effects can emerge as a consequence of an IR-UV mix effect. This opens the possibility of unifying the Dark Energy and Dark matter effects in a single approach.
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Geometric Operators in Loop Quantum Gravity with a Cosmological Constant Loop quantum gravity is a candidate to describe the quantum
gravity regime with zero cosmological constant. One of its key results
is that geometric operators such as area angle volume are quantized. Not
much is known when the cosmological constant is not zero. It is usually
believed that to introduce this parameter in the game we need to use
quantum groups. However due to the complicated algebraic structure
inherent to quantum groups the geometric operators are not yet properly
defined (except the area operator). I will discuss how the use of tensor
operators can circumvent the difficulties and allow to construct a
natural set of observables. In particular I will construct the natural
geometric observables such as angle or volume and discuss some of their
implications.
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Interplay Between Cosmological Constant and DSR Scale I offer brief remarks on several ways in which the cosmological
constant could provide a clue toward quantum gravity. I then focus on
how DSR-relativistic theories can be made compatible with spacetime
expansion (possibly cosmological-constant-governed spacetime expansion),
and how this interplay could manifest itself in data.
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Quantum Gravity RG Flow: A Cosmological Limit Cycle I will discuss evidence for the existence of a limit cycle in the
renormalization group for quantum gravity which is visible in a
minisuperspace approximation. The emergence of the limit cycle can be
studied through a tuning parameter representing the number of dimensions
in which fluctuations of the conformal factor are suppressed. At the
critical value of the tuning parameter all RG trajectories reaching the
UV fixed point have an extended semiclassical regime with a small
positive cosmological constant providing a possible model for a viable
cosmology without fine-tuning.
Quantum-gravity effects as noise for
gravity-wave detectors I discuss a mechanism that can allow Planck scale effects to manifest themselves as a source of lof-frequency noise for interferometers. The mechanism requires a discrete formulation of dynamics at the Planck scale. ____________________ Dancing in the Dark: Images of Quantum Black Holes There have recently been a number of rather surprising suggestions
that the quantum nature of black holes is manifested on macroscopic
scales. This raises the question of just what the image of such an
object should look like. The answer is more than simply academic; with
the advent of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a millimetre-wave very
long baseline array, it is now possible to probe a handful of
supermassive black holes with angular resolutions sufficient to image
their horizons. I will discuss what we might expect to see, and how in
the near future we will begin to empirically probe the existence of
black hole quantum states with horizon scale curvature deviations from
general relativity. _____________________ The Irritating Persistence of Horizons In some approaches to quantum gravity Lorentz invariance is
modified. Without Lorentz invariance one can theoretically see behind
the usual Killing horizon of a black hole if, for example, one allowed
for superluminal propagation. This in turn raises the possibility that
one could in principle probe the singularity and the quantum gravity
regime. We discuss how Lorentz violating black hole solutions in
Einstein-aether theory unfortunately possess another causal boundary
behind the Killing horizon that is impenetrable to any superluminal
mode. We also detail progress in determining the laws of black hole
mechanics and the radiation spectrum from these so-called "universal
horizons". Our results suggest that even if superluminal dispersion at
high frequencies did exist in nature, singularities and their associated
quantum gravity resolutions may very well remain locked behind
horizons.
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a cubic-kilometer-scale neutrino detector built into the ice sheet at the geographic South Pole. Completed in December 2010, the detector consists of an array of photomultiplier tubes deployed along 86 cables ("strings") at depths of 1450 to 2450 m, as well as the IceTop air shower array of surface Cherenkov tanks. IceCube is detecting atmospheric neutrinos of energies above approximately 100 GeV at a rate of ~6 per hour, and is currently searching for extraterrestrial neutrinos from cosmic ray accelerators. A measurement of the atmospheric neutrino spectrum can be used to search for possible phenomenological signatures of quantum gravity (QG), such as violations of Lorentz invariance or quantum decoherence, and I present limits we have set on these phenomena in the neutrino sector. To extend the search for QG to much higher energies and cosmological baselines, we require an extraterrestrial neutrino source. In this context, I report on the status of our searches for neutrinos from gamma-ray bursts and from cosmic-ray interactions with the microwave background ("cosmogenic" neutrinos).
Quantum Gravity at the origin of seeds of cosmic
structure? This meeting shows a our impatience for uncovering at long last any signal of unknown physics that might have a quantum gravitational origin. I will argue that the transition from a homogenous and isotropic state characterizing the mid-early parts of inflation ( i.e. the regime after sufficient e- folds of inflation have elapsed so that all traces of the pre-inflationary state are erased), to those eras, where the primordial inhomogeneities have appears might hold ins testing clues about the nature of quantum gravity
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Quantum gravity and cosmology In the light of upcoming high-precision data from the Planck
mission and possible trans-Planckian signatures encoded in eg the
microwave background radiation, and in view of possible large-distance
modifications of gravity and the accelearted expansion of the universe
One century after the seminal balloon flights of Victor Hess, the Pierre Auger Observatory aims at unveiling some of the mysteries of the highest-energy cosmic rays: what are their sources? Is there an end to the spectrum? What kind of particles are they? Are there signatures of new physics or of a violation of fundamental laws of physics? The Auger Observatory measures cosmic rays with energies of 10^20 eV or more by observing the giant air showers created when the particles hit the atmosphere. Located in Argentina, two complementary detector systems are used: an array of 1600 water-Cherenkov detectors distributed over 3000 sqkm, and fluorescence telescopes which monitor the atmosphere above the array in clear nights. Since 2005, data of unprecedented quantity and quality could be taken. In the talk, the observation principles, successes and limitations are described. Current, partly surprising results are presented. Data interpretations related to the search for violation of Lorentz invariance are mentioned.
Asymptotically safe inflation and CMB polarization The presence of complex critical exponents in the scaling behavior of the Newton constant and Cosmological constant has dramatic consequences at the inflation scale. In particular an infinite number of unstable de-Sitter vacua emerges from an effective quantum gravitational action. In this framework, the possibility of detecting specific signaturesof a non-gaussian fixed point of the gravitational interactions in the CMB polarization spectrum will then be discussed.
________________________ Cosmological
windows such as CMB polarization and 21cm redshift surveys to probe
Planck-scale physics
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Quantum
gravity and a chiral signature in gravity waves I show how quantum gravity could lead to a chiral signature in the graviational wave background, proportional to the imaginary part of the Immirzi parameter. This would leave a distinctive imprint in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. I will discuss how this isue is closely related to that of identifying the ground of base state for quantum gravity.
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A Possible Bound on Spectral
Dispersion from Fermi-Detected
Gamma Ray Burst 090510A Three photons spanning about 30 GeV arrived within about one millisecond from the Fermi-detected GRB 090510A at a redshift of about 0.9. Although conceivably a > 3σ statistical fluctuation when taken at face value this photon bunch -- quite possibly a classic GRB pulse -- leads to a relatively tight bound on the ability of our universe to disperse high energy photons. Specifically given a generic dispersion relation where the time delay is proportional to the photon energy to the first power the limit on the dispersion strength is k1 < 1.61×10-5 sec Gpc-1 GeV-1. In the context of some theories of quantum gravity this conservative bound translates into an minimum energy scale greater than 525 m_Planck suggesting that spacetime is smooth at energies perhaps three orders of magnitude over the Planck mass.
The high flux and variability of the blazar PKS 2155-304 as observed by H.E.S.S. during the night of 28 July 2006 allowed a very high precision search for Quantum Gravity-induced energy-dependent time lags. In this talk, I will review the results published by the H.E.S.S. collaboration on this topic. In particular, I will emphasize the latest results obtained using a likelihood fit to study individual photon data. With this method and a proper error calibration procedure, a very high precision measurement was achieved leading to the best constraints on linear and quadratic terms of the dispersion relations obtained with an AGN so far.
Naturalness problems that could be signaling the necessity a completion of an effective field theory with the introduction of an otherwise overlooked ingredient. The cosmological constant problem can be seen as a signal that the EFT for gravity, general relativity, is not correctly including the gravitational properties of the vacuum. Starting from the discussion of the a possible solution to this naturalness problem for a cc-like term in a BEC analogue model, I will briefly discuss how this particular mechanism can be extended, albeit in a preliminary form, to more genuine quantum gravity models like GFT, connecting in particular the problem of the determination of the gravitational couplings (and hence the hierarchies involved) to the appearance of a semiclassical space-time
Analogue models of gravity have been a test field for many phenomena in quantum field theory on curved spacetimes. It was recently recognized that in some situations they can also provide toy models of emergent gravity. We shall review here such a model and address within it the nature and scale of the cosmological constrant trying to draw general lessons for emergent gravity scenarios.