Discreteness of Space from GUP II: Relativistic Wave Equations

TL;DR

This paper extends previous work on the Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) to relativistic quantum equations, demonstrating that space may be fundamentally discrete through quantized dimensions in relativistic wave solutions.

Contribution

It introduces GUP corrections to relativistic wave equations, showing that space's discreteness extends to relativistic quantum mechanics and higher dimensions.

Findings

Quantization of box length, area, and volume due to GUP corrections.

Relativistic wave equations exhibit space discretization.

Indications of the fundamental graininess of space.

Abstract

Various theories of Quantum Gravity predict modifications of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle near the Planck scale to a so-called Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP). In some recent papers, we showed that the GUP gives rise to corrections to the Schrodinger equation, which in turn affect all quantum mechanical Hamiltonians. In particular, by applying it to a particle in a one dimensional box, we showed that the box length must be quantized in terms of a fundamental length (which could be the Planck length), which we interpreted as a signal of fundamental discreteness of space itself. In this paper, we extend the above results to a relativistic particle in a rectangular as well as a spherical box, by solving the GUP-corrected Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations, and for the latter, to two and three dimensions. We again arrive at quantization of box length, area and volume and an indication of the fundamentally grainy nature of space. We discuss possible implications.