The Concept of Time in 2D Quantum Gravity

TL;DR

This paper investigates the fractal dimensions of space-time in 2D quantum gravity using a specific 'time' definition from spin clusters, revealing phase-dependent behaviors and discrepancies with traditional geodesic measures.

Contribution

It introduces and analyzes a new 'time' concept based on spin clusters, showing its limitations and differences from geodesic distance in 2D quantum gravity.

Findings

At the critical point, d_h(s) = 6 for coupled Ising model and 16 for flat space.

In the unmagnetized phase, the Hausdorff dimension definition fails.

The new 'time' measure does not relate simply to geodesic distance as expected.

Abstract

We show that the ``time'' t_s defined via spin clusters in the Ising model coupled to 2d gravity leads to a fractal dimension d_h(s) = 6 of space-time at the critical point, as advocated by Ishibashi and Kawai. In the unmagnetized phase, however, this definition of Hausdorff dimension breaks down. Numerical measurements are consistent with these results. The same definition leads to d_h(s)=16 at the critical point when applied to flat space. The fractal dimension d_h(s) is in disagreement with both analytical prediction and numerical determination of the fractal dimension d_h(g), which is based on the use of the geodesic distance t_g as ``proper time''. There seems to be no simple relation of the kind t_s = t_g^{d_h(g)/d_h(s)}, as expected by dimensional reasons.