Finite Quantum Gravity Amplitudes: No Strings Attached
Tom Draper, Benjamin Knorr, Chris Ripken, Frank Saueressig
Abstract
We study the gravity-mediated scattering of scalar fields based on a parameterization of the Lorentzian quantum effective action. We demonstrate that the interplay of infinite towers of spin zero and spin two poles at imaginary squared momentum leads to scattering amplitudes that are compatible with unitarity bounds, causal, and scale-free at trans-Planckian energy. Our construction avoids introducing nonlocalities or the massive higher-spin particles that are characteristic in string theory.
Topics & Concepts
PhysicsUnitarityQuantum gravityScattering amplitudeSpin foamQuantum mechanicsScalar (mathematics)Spin (aerodynamics)String theoryEffective actionQuantum electrodynamicsAmplitudeClassical mechanicsScatteringQuantumLoop quantum gravityTheoretical physicsMathematicsThermodynamicsGeometryNoncommutative and Quantum Gravity TheoriesBlack Holes and Theoretical PhysicsCosmology and Gravitation Theories