Gauge Dependence of Gravitational Correction to Running of Gauge Couplings

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the inclusion of quantum gravity affects the running of gauge couplings, revealing that the correction is gauge-dependent, which questions the universality of previous results.

Contribution

It provides explicit calculations demonstrating the gauge dependence of gravitational corrections to gauge coupling running, challenging prior assumptions of gauge invariance.

Findings

Gravitational correction to gauge coupling running depends on gauge choice

Previous claims of gauge-invariant gravitational effects are not supported

Implications for grand unification scale and asymptotic freedom are affected

Abstract

Recently an interesting idea has been put forward by Robinson and Wilczek that incorporation of quantized gravity in the framework of abelian and nonabelian gauge theories results in a correction to the running of gauge coupling and, in consequence, to increase of the Grand Unification scale and to the asymptotic freedom. In this paper it is shown by explicit calculations that this correction depends on the choice of gauge.