Path integral suppression of badly behaved causal sets
Abstract
Causal set theory is a discrete model of spacetime that retains a notion of causal structure. We understand how to construct causal sets that approximate a given spacetime, but most causal sets are not at all manifold-like, and must be dynamically excluded if something like our Universe is to emerge from the theory. Here we show that the most common of these 'bad' causal sets, the Kleitman-Rothschild orders, are strongly suppressed in the gravitational path integral, and we provide evidence that a large class of other 'bad' causal sets are similarly suppressed. It thus becomes plausible that continuum behavior could emerge naturally from causal set quantum theory.
- Publication:
-
Classical and Quantum Gravity
- Pub Date:
- May 2023
- DOI:
- 10.1088/1361-6382/acc50c
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2209.00327
- Bibcode:
- 2023CQGra..40i5004C
- Keywords:
-
- causal sets;
- path integral;
- quantum gravity;
- General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology;
- High Energy Physics - Theory
- E-Print:
- 10 pages, 2 figures