Logarithmic nonlinearity in theories of quantum gravity: Origin of time and observational consequences

TL;DR

This paper introduces a logarithmic correction to quantum gravity theories, revealing how time and Lorentz invariance emerge at low energies and explaining astrophysical observations of high-energy cosmic rays.

Contribution

It proposes a novel logarithmic nonlinearity in quantum gravity that explains the emergence of time and Lorentz invariance and predicts observable effects on high-energy cosmic ray propagation.

Findings

Particles with higher energy propagate slower than lower-energy ones.

Logarithmic nonlinearity deforms vacuum wave dispersion relations.

High-energy particles can have significantly larger mean free paths.

Abstract

Starting from a generic generally covariant classical theory we introduce the logarithmic correction to the quantum wave equation. We demonstrate the emergence of the evolution time from the group of automorphisms of the von Neumann algebra governed by this non-linear correction. It turns out that such time parametrization is essentially energy-dependent and becomes global only asymptotically - when the energies get very small comparing to the effective quantum gravity scale. Similar thing happens to the Lorentz invariance - in the resulting theory it becomes an asymptotic low-energy phenomenon. We show how the logarithmic non-linearity deforms the vacuum wave dispersion relations and explains certain features of the astrophysical data coming from recent observations of high-energy cosmic rays. In general, the estimates imply that ceteris paribus the particles with higher energy propagate slower than those with lower one, therefore, for a high-energy particle the mean free path, lifetime in a high-energy state and, therefore, travel distance from the source can be significantly larger than one would expect from the conventional theory. Apart from this, we discuss also the possibility and conditions of the transluminal phenomena in the physical vacuum such as the Cherenkov-type shock waves.