From Quantum Foundations of Quantum Field Theory, String Theory and Quantum Gravity to Dark Matter and Dark Energy

Abstract

We review our recent work on quantum foundations of quantum mechanics, quantum field theory and quantum gravity (formulated as metastring theory) and various implications for the problems of dark matter and dark energy. The first point concerns the new understanding of quantum theory via the concept of quantum (modular) spacetime endowed with manifest non-locality that is consistent with causality. This view implies the consistency of the fundamental length and Lorentz symmetry, based on the principle of relative (observer dependent) locality. The geometry of such quantum spacetime is encoded in the new concept of Born geometry. This in turn leads to a novel understanding of quantum field theory in a manifestly bi-local representation endowed with metaparticle quanta. A fully dynamical quantum spacetime, with a dynamical Born geometry, leads to quantum gravity (a quantum theory of dynamical geometry of quantum non-locality) in the guise of metastring theory. This generic formulation of string theory implies a radiatively stable positive cosmological constant (viewed as a curvature of the dual spacetime) as a model of dark energy in the observed classical spacetime, as well as metaparticle quanta (the zero modes of the metastring) as the natural quanta of dark matter in this approach.

Infrared Properties of Quantum Gravity: UV/IR Mixing, Gravitizing the Quantum -- Theory and Observation

“…The metaparticles can be viewed as quanta of quantum fields in the modular representation. Such fields are inherently bi-local and non-commutative, and each observed quantum field has a "dual", which could be associated with dark matter degrees of freedom [11]. Similarly, in the gravitational setting one gets, to leading order in the minimal length, a dual geometry, which in the observed spacetime leads to "dark energy", modeled as a positive cosmological constant [43,44].…”

“…A concrete framework for addressing this is to work within duality-symmetric formulations of string theory, which indeed possess some non-commutative features. For brevity we will refer to this approach as metastring theory [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14], and there is a useful phenomenological approach, called the metaparticle limit [9], that captures some of the non-commutative features, leading to novel and interesting predictions. This theory can be understood as defining a precise notion of the gravitization of quantum geometry, in the sense that quantum mechanical structures that are traditionally fixed become dynamical.…”

“…A natural question is whether the underlying conceptual idea of relative locality can be embedded in an established theory of quantum gravity. The answer is yes, in that one can realize relative locality in string theory [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. This approach follows the line of reasoning well known from Einstein's special theory of relativity, albeit in the quantum context.…”

“…This structure is precisely realized in metastring theory, a T-duality covariant and intrinsically non-commutative formulation of string theory [7,8]), and its unitary and causal metaparticle limit [9] . In this setting quantum gravitational effects appear both at short (UV) and long distances (IR) [10,11].…”

Quantum Gravity and Phenomenology: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Vacuum Selection, Emergent Spacetime, and Wormholes

“…Such correlations [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] are yet to be understood from the point of view of the Λ-CDM model. In this context, a new picture of the origin of dark matter from quantum gravity, in the guise of a general non-commutative formulation of string theory [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29], has been recently proposed [29,30]. Essentially, in this approach, dark matter should be viewed as a dual SM, where "dual" refers to the dual spacetime that is found in such a general formulation of string theory.…”