Locally Mediated Entanglement in Linearized Quantum Gravity.

The current interest in laboratory detection of entanglement mediated by gravity was sparked by an information-theoretic argument: entanglement mediated by a local field certifies that the field is not classical. Previous derivations of the effect modeled gravity as instantaneous; here we derive it from linearized quantum general relativity while keeping Lorentz invariance explicit, using the path-integral formalism. In this framework, entanglement is clearly mediated by a quantum feature of the field. We also point out the possibility of observing "retarded" entanglement, which cannot be explained by an instantaneous interaction. This is a difficult experiment for gravity, but is plausible for the analogous electromagnetic case.

Memory and Entropy.

I study the physical nature of traces. Surprisingly, (i) systems separation with (ii) temperature differences and (iii) long thermalization times are sufficient conditions to produce macroscopic traces. Traces of the past are ubiquitous because these conditions are largely satisfied in our universe. I quantify these thermodynamical conditions for memory and derive an expression for the maximum amount of information stored in such memories as a function of the relevant thermodynamical parameters. This mechanism transforms low entropy into available information. I suggest that all macroscopic information has this origin in past low entropy.

Where Was Past Low-Entropy?

Where was the past low-entropy of the early universe located? Contrary to some popular answers, I argue that that the dominant source of low-entropy is the fact that a single degree of freedom, the scale factor, was not at equilibrium. I also discuss possible interpretations of the "improbability" of this early low-entropy.

'Space is blue and birds fly through it'.

Quantum mechanics is not about 'quantum states': it is about values of physical variables. I give a short fresh presentation and update on the relational perspective on the theory, and a comment on its philosophical implications.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Foundations of quantum mechanics and their impact on contemporary society'.

Evidence for maximal acceleration and singularity resolution in covariant loop quantum gravity.

A simple argument indicates that covariant loop gravity (spin foam theory) predicts a maximal acceleration and hence forbids the development of curvature singularities. This supports the results obtained for cosmology and black holes using canonical methods.

On the consistency of relative facts.

Lawrence et al. have presented an argument purporting to show that "relative facts do not exist" and, consequently, "Relational Quantum Mechanics is incompatible with quantum mechanics". The argument is based on a GHZ-like contradiction between constraints satisfied by measurement outcomes in an extended Wigner's friend scenario. Here we present a strengthened version of the argument, and show why, contrary to the claim by Lawrence et al., these arguments do not contradict the consistency of a theory of relative facts. Rather, considering this argument helps clarify how one should not think about a theory of relative facts, like RQM.

Relational Quantum Mechanics is About Facts, Not States: A Reply to Pienaar and Brukner.

In recent works, Caslav Brukner and Jacques Pienaar have raised interesting objections to the relational interpretation of quantum mechanics. We answer these objections in detail and show that, far from questioning the viability of the interpretation, they sharpen and clarify it.

Transitions in Brain Evolution: Space, Time and Entropy.

How did brains evolve to become so complex, and what is their future? Brains pose an explanatory challenge because entropy, which inexorably increases over time, is commonly associated with disorder and simplicity. Recently we showed how evolution is an entropic process, building structures - organisms - which themselves facilitate entropy growth. Here we suggest that key transitional points in evolution extended organisms' reach into space and time, opening channels into new regions of a complex multidimensional state space that also allow entropy to increase. Brain evolution enabled representation of space and time, which vastly enhances this process. Some of these channels lead to tiny, dead-ends in the state space: the persistence of complex life is thus not thermodynamically guaranteed.

Loop Quantum Gravity.

The problem of describing the quantum behavior of gravity, and thus understanding quantum spacetime, is still open. Loop quantum gravity is a well-developed approach to this problem. It is a mathematically well-defined background-independent quantization of general relativity, with its conventional matter couplings. Today research in loop quantum gravity forms a vast area, ranging from mathematical foundations to physical applications. Among the most significant results obtained so far are: (i) The computation of the spectra of geometrical quantities such as area and volume, which yield tentative quantitative predictions for Planck-scale physics. (ii) A physical picture of the microstructure of quantum spacetime, characterized by Planck-scale discreteness. Discreteness emerges as a standard quantum effect from the discrete spectra, and provides a mathematical realization of Wheeler's "spacetime foam" intuition. (iii) Control of spacetime singularities, such as those in the interior of black holes and the cosmological one. This, in particular, has opened up the possibility of a theoretical investigation into the very early universe and the spacetime regions beyond the Big Bang. (iv) A derivation of the Bekenstein-Hawking black-hole entropy. (v) Low-energy calculations, yielding n-point functions well defined in a background-independent context. The theory is at the roots of, or strictly related to, a number of formalisms that have been developed for describing background-independent quantum field theory, such as spin foams, group field theory, causal spin networks, and others. I give here a general overview of ideas, techniques, results and open problems of this candidate theory of quantum gravity, and a guide to the relevant literature.

Loop Quantum Gravity.

The problem of finding the quantum theory of the gravitational field, and thus understanding what is quantum spacetime, is still open. One of the most active of the current approaches is loop quantum gravity. Loop quantum gravity is a mathematically well-defined, non-perturbative and background independent quantization of general relativity, with its conventional matter couplings. Research in loop quantum gravity today forms a vast area, ranging from mathematical foundations to physical applications. Among the most significant results obtained are: (i)The computation of the physical spectra of geometrical quantities such as area and volume, which yields quantitative predictions on Planck-scale physics.(ii)A derivation of the Bekenstein-Hawking black hole entropy formula.(iii)An intriguing physical picture of the microstructure of quantum physical space, characterized by a polymer-like Planck scale discreteness. This discreteness emerges naturally from the quantum theory and provides a mathematically well-defined realization of Wheeler's intuition of a spacetime "foam". Long standing open problems within the approach (lack of a scalar product, over-completeness of the loop basis, implementation of reality conditions) have been fully solved. The weak part of the approach is the treatment of the dynamics: at present there exist several proposals, which are intensely debated. Here, I provide a general overview of ideas, techniques, results and open problems of this candidate theory of quantum gravity, and a guide to the relevant literature.

Loop-quantum-gravity vertex amplitude.

Spin foam models are hoped to provide the dynamics of loop-quantum gravity. However, the most popular of these, the Barrett-Crane model, does not have the good boundary state space and there are indications that it fails to yield good low-energy n-point functions. We present an alternative dynamics that can be derived as a quantization of a Regge discretization of Euclidean general relativity, where second class constraints are imposed weakly. Its state space matches the SO(3) loop gravity one and it yields an SO(4)-covariant vertex amplitude for Euclidean loop gravity.

Graviton propagator from background-independent quantum gravity.

We study the graviton propagator in Euclidean loop quantum gravity. We use spin foam, boundary-amplitude, and group-field-theory techniques. We compute a component of the propagator to first order, under some approximations, obtaining the correct large-distance behavior. This indicates a way for deriving conventional spacetime quantities from a background-independent theory.

Particle scattering in loop quantum gravity.

We devise a technique for defining and computing -point functions in the context of a background-independent gravitational quantum field theory. We construct a tentative implementation of this technique in a perturbatively finite model defined using spin foam techniques in the context of loop quantum gravity.