Search arXiv⌕ Search

arXiv · gr-qc/9503046

TOPOLOGY CHANGE AND QUANTUM PHYSICS

Abstract

The role of topology in elementary quantum physics is discussed in detail. It is argued that attributes of classical spatial topology emerge from properties of state vectors with suitably smooth time evolution. Equivalently, they emerge from considerations on the domain of the quantum Hamiltonian, this domain being often specified by boundary conditions in elementary quantum physics. Several examples are presented where classical topology is changed by smoothly altering the boundary conditions. When the parameters labelling the latter are treated as quantum variables, quantum states need not give a well-defined classical topology, instead they can give a quantum superposition of such topologies. An existing argument of Sorkin based on the spin-statistics connection and indicating the necessity of topology change in quantum gravity is recalled. It is suggested therefrom and our results here that Einstein gravity and its minor variants are effective theories of a deeper description with additional novel degrees of freedom. Other reasons for suspecting such a microstructure are also summarized.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

A. P. Balachandran, G. Bimonte, G. Marmo, A. Simoni. 1995-03-27. TOPOLOGY CHANGE AND QUANTUM PHYSICS. https://doi.org/10.1016/0550-3213(95)00260-y

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

An upper bound on the minimum orbital period of black holes

Previous research has focused on establishing lower bounds on the minimum orbital period of black holes. In this work, we explore the complementary question of whether an upper bound exists for the minimum orbital period of black holes. We investigate the minimum orbital periods of three types of black holes: Schwarzschild, Reissner-Nordström and Kerr-Newman black holes. We find that the minimum orbital period of these black holes is bounded by an upper limit $T_{min} \leqslant 6\sqrt{3}πM$, where $M$ is the black hole mass. Our results suggest that this upper bound on the minimum orbital period may be a general property in black hole spacetimes.

gr-qc↗

Bounds on the minimum orbital period in the background of 5-dimensional charged black holes

In this paper, we study the upper and lower bounds on the minimum orbital period of 5-dimensional charged black holes. Our results indicate that the upper bound of the minimum orbital period corresponds to non-charged black holes, while the lower bound is achieved in the case of maximally charged black holes. We further establish precise analytical expressions for the upper and lower bounds of the minimum orbital period. Our findings provide valuable insights into 5-dimensional charged black holes and help constrain theoretical gravity models.

gr-qc↗

Analysis of minimum orbital periods around d-dimensional charged black holes

This paper investigates the bounds on the minimum orbital period for test objects around d-dimensional charged black holes in asymptotically flat spacetimes. We derive the exact critical radius and the minimum orbital period. We then prove analytically that the minimum orbital period decreases strictly as the charge of the black hole increases. Thus, the upper limit is reached for an uncharged black hole, while the lower limit is attained for a maximally charged one, and the two bounds take the closed form $\frac{2π(d-2)}{d-3}[(d-2)M]^{\frac{1}{d-3}}\leqslant T_{min} \leqslant 2π\sqrt{\frac{d-1}{d-3}}\,[(d-1)M]^{\frac{1}{d-3}}$. Since the minimum period equals $2π$ times the shadow radius, the upper bound is equivalently a universal upper bound on the shadow radius. These results improve our understanding of dynamics around d-dimensional black holes and impose constraints on candidate gravity theories.

gr-qc↗