Abstract
Observational indications combined with analyses of analogue and emergent gravity in condensed matter systems support the possibility that there might be two distinct energy scales related to quantum gravity: the scale that sets the onset of quantum gravitational effects \(E_{\rm B}\) (related to the Planck scale) and the much higher scale \(E_{\rm L}\) signalling the breaking of Lorentz symmetry. We suggest a natural interpretation for these two scales: \(E_{\rm L}\) is the energy scale below which a special relativistic spacetime emerges, \(E_{\rm B}\) is the scale below which this spacetime geometry becomes curved. This implies that the first ‘quantum’ gravitational effect around \(E_{\rm B}\) could simply be that gravity is progressively switched off, leaving an effective Minkowski quantum field theory up to much higher energies of the order of \(E_{\rm L}\). This scenario may have important consequences for gravitational collapse, inasmuch as it opens up new possibilities for the final state of stellar collapse other than an evaporating black hole.
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Barceló, C., Garay, L.J. & Jannes, G. Quantum Non-Gravity and Stellar Collapse. Found Phys 41, 1532–1541 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-011-9577-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-011-9577-9