Quantum mechanical stabilization of Minkowski signature wormholes

Conference · Fri May 19 00:00:00 EDT 1989

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0370-2693(90)91588-3· OSTI ID:6008511

Visser, M

When one attempts to construct classical wormholes in Minkowski signature Lorentzian spacetimes violations of both the weak energy hypothesis and averaged weak energy hypothesis are encountered. Since the weak energy hypothesis is experimentally known to be violated quantum mechanically, this suggests that a quantum mechanical analysis of Minkowski signature wormholes is in order. In this note I perform a minisuperspace analysis of a simple class of Minkowski signature wormholes. By solving the Wheeler-de Witt equation for pure Einstein gravity on this minisuperspace the quantum mechanical wave function of the wormhole is obtained in closed form. The wormhole is shown to be quantum mechanically stabilized with an average radius of order the Planck length. 8 refs.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 6008511
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-89-1745; CONF-8905153-1; ON: DE89013436; TRN: 89-017734
• Resource Relation: Journal Volume: 242; Journal Issue: 1; Conference: WORMSHOP '89, Batavia, IL, USA, 11 May 1989; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
MINKOWSKI SPACE
QUANTIZATION
QUANTUM GRAVITY
QUANTUM MECHANICS
SPACE-TIME
STABILIZATION
WAVE FUNCTIONS
FIELD THEORIES
FUNCTIONS
MATHEMATICAL SPACE
MECHANICS
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
SPACE
657003* - Theoretical & Mathematical Physics- Relativity & Gravitation
657002 - Theoretical & Mathematical Physics- Classical & Quantum Mechanics