activity
20242026
collaborators

8 papers

hep-th2026

Gravitational null rays: Covariant Quantization and the Dressing Time

Laurent Freidel, Josh Kirklin

We quantize the degrees of freedom on a gravitational null ray segment in a fully gauge-invariant manner by using the dressing time as a quantum reference frame (QRF). Our work goe…

hep-th2026

Localization and anomalous reference frames in gravity

Laurent Freidel, Josh Kirklin

In this work, we study the classical phase space for the gravitational degrees of freedom along a null ray. We construct gauge-invariant observables localized on a null ray segment…

hep-th2025

Fighting non-locality with non-locality: microcausality and boundary conditions in QED

Philipp A. Hoehn, Josh Kirklin

In gauge theories, globally charged observables necessarily depend non-locally on the kinematical fields, with this dependence extending to the asymptotic boundary of spacetime. De…

hep-th2025

Generalised second law beyond the semiclassical regime

Josh Kirklin

We prove that the generalised second law (GSL), with an appropriate modification, holds in perturbative gravity to all orders beyond the semiclassical limit and without a UV cutoff…

hep-th2025

Crossed products and quantum reference frames: on the observer-dependence of gravitational entropy

Julian De Vuyst, Stefan Eccles, Philipp A. Hoehn +1

A significant step towards a rigorous understanding of perturbative gravitational entropy was recently achieved by a series of works showing that a proper accounting of gauge invar…

hep-th2025

Linearization (in)stabilities and crossed products

Julian De Vuyst, Stefan Eccles, Philipp A. Hoehn +1

Modular crossed product algebras have recently assumed an important role in perturbative quantum gravity as they lead to an intrinsic regularization of entanglement entropies by in…