Casimir effect in a quantum space-time

TL;DR

This paper investigates the Casimir effect within a quantum space-time framework using loop quantum gravity, demonstrating finite results without regularization, highlighting quantum gravity's potential to resolve quantum field theory infinities.

Contribution

The study applies loop quantum gravity to compute the Casimir effect, providing finite results and illustrating how quantum gravity can naturally address quantum field theory divergences.

Findings

Calculations yield finite Casimir energies without regularization.

Quantum space-time approach reproduces standard results in classical limit.

Loop quantum gravity offers a natural resolution to quantum field theory infinities.

Abstract

We apply quantum field theory in quantum space-time techniques to study the Casimir effect for large spherical shells. As background we use the recently constructed exact quantum solution for spherically symmetric vacuum space-time in loop quantum gravity. All calculations are finite and one recovers the usual results without the need of regularization or renormalization. This is an example of how loop quantum gravity provides a natural resolution to the infinities of quantum field theories.