Pipa, Francisco (2025) A Conservative Theory of Semiclassical Gravity. [Preprint]
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Abstract
We argue that semiclassical gravity is rendered consistent by considering that quantum systems emit a gravitational field only when they interact with members of Stable Determination Chains (SDCs). These are chains of non-gravitational interactions between quantum systems modeled via decoherence and test functions that obey conditions that aim to address the measurement problem and allow for a conservative theory of gravity. It is conservative because it does not need to modify the fundamental equations of quantum theory, unlike spontaneous and gravity-induced collapse approaches to semiclassical gravity, and without invoking relationalism. Furthermore, it does not appeal to nonlocal, retrocausal, or superdeterministic hidden variables. When systems do not interact with SDCs, they do not emit a gravitational field, and the expectation value of their stress-energy tensor does not enter the semiclassical equations describing the gravitational field in a region. In the absence of SDCs in a region, spacetime can be flat. This theory holds a version of the equivalence principle, which establishes that different bodies under the same gravitational field evolve similarly in the absence of non-gravitational interactions. It can be tested by experiments investigating the gravitational field emitted by quasi-isolated systems, and the lack of gravity-mediated entanglement and certain kinds of collapse in the Bose-Marletto-Vedral (BMV) experiment. It provides multiple benefits, such as a semiclassical estimation of the value of the cosmological constant and the prediction of a time-varying dark energy that weakens with time, in agreement with some evidence. More broadly, we propose a new testable framework in which there is a conditional emission of a gravitational field by quantum systems, which may undermine the main motivations for a theory of quantum gravity.
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Towards a consistent Semiclassical Theory of Gravity. (deposited 08 Jul 2025 13:44)
- A Conservative Theory of Semiclassical Gravity. (deposited 16 Oct 2025 11:04) [Currently Displayed]
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