In contrast to the 3D case, different approaches for deriving the gravitational corrections to the Heisenberg uncertainty relation do not lead to the unique result whereas additional spatial dimensions are present in the theory. We suggest to take logarithmic corrections to the black hole entropy, which has recently been proved both in string theory and loop quantum gravity to persist in presence of additional spatial dimensions, as a point of entry for identifying the modified Heisenberg-Weyl algebra. We then use a particular Hilbert space representation for such a quantum mechanics to construct the correspondingly modified field theory and address some phenomenological issues following from it. Some subtleties arising at the second quantization level are clearly pointed out. Solving the field operator to the first order in deformation parameter and defining the modified wave function for a free particle, we discuss the possible phenomenological implications for the black hole evaporation. Putting aside modifications arising at the second quantization level, we address the corrections to the gravitational potential due to modified propagator (back reaction on gravity) and see that correspondingly modified Schwarzschild-Tangherlini space-time shows up the disappearance of the horizon and vanishing of surface gravity when black hole mass approaches the quantum gravity scale. This result points out to the existence of zero-temperature black hole remnants.
It was argued in a number of papers that the gravitational potential calculated by using the modified QFT that follows from the Planck-length deformed uncertainty relation implies the existence of black-hole remnants of the order of the Planck-mass. Usually this sort of QFTs are endowed with two specific features, the modified dispersion relation, which is universal, and the concept of minimum length, which, however, is not universal. While the emergence of the minimum-length most readily leads to the idea of the black hole remnants, here we examine the behaviour of the potential that follows from the Planck-length deformed QFT in absence of the minimum length and show that it might also lead to the formation of the Planck mass black holes in some particular cases. The calculations are made for higher-dimensional case as well. Such black hole remnants might be considered as a possible candidates for the dark-matter.
Using a particular Hilbert space representation of minimum-length deformed quantum mechanics, we show that the resolution of the wave-function singularities for strongly attractive potentials, as well as cosmological singularity in the framework of a minisuperspace approximation, is uniquely tied to the fact that this sort of quantum mechanics implies the reduced Hilbert space of state-vectors consisting of the functions nonlocalizable beneath the Planck length. (Corrections to the Hamiltonian do not provide such an universal mechanism for avoiding singularities.) Following this discussion, as a next step we take a critical view of the meaning of wave-function in such a quantum theory. For this reason we focus on the construction of current vector and the subsequent continuity equation. Some issues gained in the framework of this discussion are then considered in the context of field theory. Finally, we discuss the classical limit of the minimum-length deformed quantum mechanics and its dramatic consequences.
A profound quantum-gravitational effect of space-time dimension running with respect to the size of space-time region has been discovered a few years ago through the numerical simulations of lattice quantum gravity in the framework of causal dynamical triangulation [hep-th/0505113] as well as in renormalization group approach to quantum gravity [hep-th/0508202]. Unfortunately, along these approaches the interpretation and the physical meaning of the effective change of dimension at shorter scales is not clear. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we find that box-counting dimension in face of finite resolution of space-time (generally implied by quantum gravity) shows a simple way how both the qualitative and the quantitative features of this effect can be understood. Second, considering two most interesting cases of random and holographic fluctuations of the background space, we find that it is random fluctuations that gives running dimension resulting in modification of Newtons inverse square law in a perfect agreement with the modification coming from one-loop gravitational radiative corrections.
Concerning the gravitational corrections to the running of gauge couplings two different results were reported. Some authors claim that gravitational correction at the one-loop level indicates an interesting effect of universal gravitational decreasing of gauge couplings, that is, gravitational correction works universally in the direction of asymptotic freedom no matter how the gauge coupling behaves without gravity, while others reject the presence of gravitational correction at the one-loop level at all. Being these calculations done in the framework of an effective field theory approach to general relativity, we wanted to draw attention to a recently discovered profound quantum-gravitational effect of space-time dimension running that inevitably affects the running of gauge couplings. The running of space-time dimension indicating gradual reduction of dimension as one gets into smaller scales acts on the coupling constants in the direction of asymptotic freedom and therefore in any case manifests the plausibility of this quantum-gravitational effect. Curiously enough, the results are also in perfect quantitative agreement with those of Robinson and Wilczek.
We clearly formulate and study further a conjecture of effective field theory interaction with gravity in the cosmological context. The conjecture stems from the fact that the melding of quantum theory and gravity typically indicates the presence of an inherent UV cutoff. Taking note of the physical origin of this UV cutoff, that the background metric fluctuations does not allow QFT to operate with a better precision than the background space resolution, we conjecture that the converse statement might also be true. That is, an effective field theory could not perceive the background space with a better precision than it is allowed by its intrinsic UV scale. Some of the subtleties and cosmological implications of this conjecture are explored.
