Exotic Statistics for Ordinary Particles in Quantum Gravity

TL;DR

This paper discusses how quantum gravity effects may alter the statistics of ordinary particles, potentially leading to observable deviations from traditional Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics in theories like loop quantum gravity.

Contribution

It presents arguments from multiple viewpoints that quantum gravity can modify particle statistics, highlighting potential testable effects in piecewise-linear spacetime models.

Findings

Quantum gravity may induce exotic particle statistics.

Modifications are expected in loop quantum gravity and similar theories.

Unusual statistics could be experimentally detectable.

Abstract

Objects exhibiting statistics other than the familiar Bose and Fermi ones are natural in theories with topologically nontrivial objects including geons, strings, and black holes. It is argued here from several viewpoints that the statistics of ordinary particles with which we are already familiar are likely to be modified due to quantum gravity effects. In particular, such modifications are argued to be present in loop quantum gravity and in any theory which represents spacetime in a fundamentally piecewise-linear fashion. The appearance of unusual statistics may be a generic feature (such as the deformed position-momentum uncertainty relations and the appearance of a fundamental length scale) which are to be expected in any theory of quantum gravity, and which could be testable.