How Does Quantum Gravity Influence Our Understanding of Quantum Mechanics?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the influence of quantum gravity on the understanding of quantum mechanics, particularly through the lens of the ER=EPR conjecture. Participants explore theoretical implications, interpretations, and the relationship between quantum mechanics and gravity, with references to various papers and conjectures.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that quantum gravity may provide insights into the foundations of quantum mechanics, referencing the duality between the Copenhagen interpretation and Everett’s Relative State Formulation.
  • There are claims of advances in understanding how the ER=EPR conjecture could resolve the firewall paradox, with links to relevant papers.
  • One participant expresses skepticism about the relevance of ER=EPR to the foundations of quantum mechanics, arguing that the connections are not obvious and questioning the illuminating nature of certain physicists' comments.
  • Another participant discusses the weak and strong forms of the ER=EPR conjecture, noting that the weak form is not manifestly wrong and has interesting implications for research.
  • There is mention of a conjecture that particles can be thought of as black holes, which some participants find compelling, despite acknowledging the resistance to this idea.
  • One participant references EriK Verlinde's expansion on gravity based on "action at distance," suggesting further implications for the discussion.
  • A distinction is made between conjectures and theories, emphasizing the need for a theory to validate conjectures.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of skepticism and interest regarding the implications of ER=EPR for quantum mechanics, with no consensus reached on its validity or relevance. There are competing views on the strength and implications of the conjecture.

Contextual Notes

Some arguments rely on specific interpretations of quantum mechanics and the nature of gravity, with unresolved assumptions about the implications of the ER=EPR conjecture and its relationship to established theories.

A. Neumaier
Science Advisor
Insights Author
Messages
8,727
Reaction score
4,835
ftr said:
It is not black and white

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1604.02589.pdf
"Quantum gravity may have as much to tell us about the foundations and interpretation of quantum mechanics as it does about gravity. The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics and Everett’s Relative State Formulation are complementary descriptions which in a sense are dual to one another. My purpose here is to discuss this duality in the light of the of ER=EPR conjecture."
See Peter Shor's comments here and here and Urs Schreiber's comments here.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: ftr
Physics news on Phys.org
A. Neumaier said:
See Peter Shor's comments here and here and Urs Schreiber's comments here.

I very much doubt ER=EPR has anything to do with the foundations of QM, despite some papers that speculate along those lines. At least that link is not obvious. I also don’t think Peter Shors (who is a very good physicist) comments are particularly illuminating.

ER=EPR started out as an observation that two sided black holes in ADS space evade AMPS argument and produce a unitary system without a firewall. This much is not contested. The weak part of the conjecture then goes on to posit that maybe nature always makes something that looks like two sided black hole systems. Explicit examples are provided (black hole pair creation in magnetic fields). Again, this ties into Ryu-Takayanagi and the entanglement program in a very interesting way.

The strong form of the conjecture is a little more crazy, which posits that all entanglement is related to the connectivity of space time in a as yet to be properly formulated way.

In any event, the weak form is not manifestly wrong, evidence is given and the consequences are worthy of research. It also does lead to some interesting features (state dependance) and ties in with other research (tensor networks, SyK models, etc).
 
A. Neumaier said:
See Peter Shor's comments here and here and Urs Schreiber's comments here.
Thanks Neumaier for highlighting the subject. I intended to do the same but I have not gotten the chance. I can't elaborate too much but I got interested in the subject because the idea I showed before(which leans toward TI) when generalized seemed to imply the ER=ERP conjecture. Moreover, for a long time there has been a conjecture that particles can be thought of as black holes which sort of convinced me more by the possibility. Of course the strong resistance from your links is understandable, but thank you for them.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-th/9202014.pdf
 
Last edited:
ftr said:
for a long time there has been a conjecture that particles can be thought of as black holes
There is a big difference between a conjecture and a theory that would turn the conjecture into a truth.
ftr said:
the strong resistance from your links is understandable
The comments by Urs Schreiber linked to are neutral.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
4K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
6K
  • · Replies 376 ·
13
Replies
376
Views
25K
Replies
13
Views
4K
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
2K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
3K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 28 ·
Replies
28
Views
6K