Causal sets as discrete spacetime

Abstract

Causal set theory is an approach to the problem of quantum gravity in which spacetime is fundamentally discrete and in which causality is a primary concept. The concrete kinematics of the approach makes it relatively straightforward to build phenomenological models that produce observable effects of the underlying discreteness. An example is a model of a massive free particle moving on a causal set background which gives rise to a Lorentz invariant diffusion in the particle's momentum, a novel and potentially fruitful effect.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fay Dowker

Fay Dowker is a Senior Lecturer at Imperial College, London, UK. She did her PhD with Professor S.W. Hawking at the University of Cambridge. She has done postdoctoral work at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia IL, USA, University of California at Santa Barbara CA, USA and California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA USA. She held a lectureship at Queen Mary, University of London before moving to Imperial. Her research interests are in quantum gravity and especially causal set theory, and in the foundations of quantum mechanics.