2017/02/28 by Nicolai Christiansen, Astrid Eichhorn
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Asymptotic freedom #Asymptotic safety in quantum gravity #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Fixed point #Gauge (firearms) #Gauge boson #Gauge fixing #Gauge theory #Infrared fixed point #Introduction to gauge theory #Mathematical physics #Mathematics #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions #Quantum gravity #Quantum mechanics #Renormalization #Renormalization group #Theoretical physics #Thermal quantum field theory #Triviality #Ultraviolet fixed point #gr-qc #hep-ph #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2017.04.047
6 pages plus references; 5 figures; version identical with published one; slight change in notation; discussion of effect of charged matter added
openalex publication_date 2017/04/26 · arxiv created 2017/05/17 · arxiv updated 2017/05/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We explore whether quantum gravity effects within the asymptotic safety paradigm can provide a predictive ultraviolet completion for Abelian gauge theories. We evaluate the effect of quantum gravity fluctuations on the running couplings in the gauge sector and discover an asymptotically safe fixed point of the Renormalization Group. In particular, if the strength of gravitational interactions remains below a critical strength, the minimal gauge coupling becomes asymptotically free. Further, we point out that a completely asymptotically free dynamics for the gauge field is impossible to achieve, as asymptotically safe quantum gravity necessarily induces non-vanishing higher-order interactions for the gauge field in the ultraviolet.