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“On the Necessity of Quantized Gravity:

a critical comparison of Baym & Ozawa (2009) and Belenchia et al. (2018)"

Date:

Download-files:

Time:

Thursday, 03 June 2021

Video-Recording for any system with MP4-support

- Video.mp4 (ca. 195 Mb)

13:10 – 13:55

Abstract:

One of the main unsolved problems in theoretical physics is combining quantum

mechanics and general relativity. A central question is how to describe gravity

as a quantum field, or if a quantum field description of gravity is even necessary.

Baym and Ozawa in their paper "Two-slit diffraction with highly charged

particles: Niels Bohr’s consistency argument that the electromagnetic field

must be quantized" (PNAS, 106:3035–3040 (2009)) presented a thereto

unpublished argument by Bohr, and considered towards the end this question

for the gravitational field. Belenchia at al in their paper

"Quantum superposition of massive objects and the quantization of gravity"

(Physical Review D 98:1–9 (2018)) come to a different conclusion.

In this talk these two Gedankenexperiments will be analyzed, compared, and

combined. Assuming the Planck length as a fundamental lower bound on

distance measurability, it is found that a quantum field theory of gravity is not

a logical necessity from these types of considerations, in agreement with

Baym and Ozawa.

This is joint work with with E Aurell and I Pikovski.

Speaker today: Erik Rydving (KTH Engineering Physics Program)