Nonperturbative Quantum Gravity in a Closed Lorentzian Universe

TL;DR

This paper shows that nonperturbative quantum gravity in a closed universe can produce meaningful predictions through partial observability and environment-induced decoherence, without external observers or modifications.

Contribution

It introduces a framework where classical observables and probabilities emerge naturally from quantum gravity via subsystem tracing, avoiding the need for external measurement assumptions.

Findings

Classical outcomes arise from partial access to the universe.

Reduced density matrices encode classical information with suppressed uncertainties.

Quantum gravity in a closed universe can produce robust predictions inherently.

Abstract

We study how meaningful physical predictions can arise in nonperturbative quantum gravity in a closed Lorentzian universe. In such settings, recent developments suggest that the quantum gravitational Hilbert space is one-dimensional and real for each $\alpha$-sector, as induced by spacetime wormholes. This appears to obstruct the conventional quantum-mechanical prescription of assigning probabilities via projection onto a basis of states. While previous approaches have introduced external observers or augmented the theory to resolve this issue, we argue that quantum gravity itself contains all the necessary ingredients to make physical predictions. We demonstrate that the emergence of classical observables and probabilistic outcomes can be understood as a consequence of partial observability: physical observers access only a subsystem of the universe. Tracing out the inaccessible degrees of freedom yields reduced density matrices that encode classical information, with uncertainties exponentially suppressed by the environment's entropy. We develop this perspective using both the Lorentzian path integral and operator formalisms and support it with a simple microscopic model. Our results show that quantum gravity in a closed universe naturally gives rise to meaningful, robust predictions without recourse to external constructs.