Quantum Bose-Hubbard model with an evolving graph as a toy model for emergent spacetime

We present a toy model for interacting matter and geometry that explores quantum dynamics in a spin system as a precursor to a quantum theory of gravity. The model has no a priori geometric properties; instead, locality is inferred from the more fundamental notion of interaction between the matter d...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lloyd, Seth (Contributor), Hamma, Alioscia (Author), Markopoulou, Fotini (Author), Caravelli, Francesco (Author), Severini, Simone (Author), Markström, Klas (Author)
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering (Contributor)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society, 2010-09-24T15:37:41Z.
Subjects:
Online Access:Get fulltext
Description
Summary:We present a toy model for interacting matter and geometry that explores quantum dynamics in a spin system as a precursor to a quantum theory of gravity. The model has no a priori geometric properties; instead, locality is inferred from the more fundamental notion of interaction between the matter degrees of freedom. The interaction terms are themselves quantum degrees of freedom so that the structure of interactions and hence the resulting local and causal structures are dynamical. The system is a Hubbard model where the graph of the interactions is a set of quantum evolving variables. We show entanglement between spatial and matter degrees of freedom. We study numerically the quantum system and analyze its entanglement dynamics. We analyze the asymptotic behavior of the classical model. Finally, we discuss analogues of trapped surfaces and gravitational attraction in this simple model.
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Foundational Questions Institute
W. M. Keck Foundation Center for Extreme Quantum Information Theory