Unitarity and quantum resolution of gravitational singularities

Abstract

We explore the consequences of requiring that quantum theories of gravity be unitary, mostly focusing on simple cosmological models to illustrate the main points. We show that unitarity for a clock that encounters a classical singularity at finite time implies quantum singularity resolution, but for a clock that encounters future infinity at finite time leads to a quantum recollapse. We then find that our starting point - assuming the general covariance of general relativity - is actually incompatible with general quantum unitarity: singularity resolution in quantum gravity can always be engineered by choosing the right clock, or avoided by using a different one.