A Quantum Weyl Conjecture

Abstract

We perform a quantum probing of colliding plane-wave space-times. In particular, we consider the Khan-Penrose and the Ferrari-Ib\'a\~nez solutions, which admit a strong and a weak singularity after the two waves collide. While we find that, like Schwarzschild, for the Khan-Penrose solution the singularity cannot be probed by quantum field theory, the Ferrari-Ib\'a\~nez singularity can be traversed. Our results culminate in a quantum Weyl conjecture: The significant geometric property to classify space-times with respect to quantum probes is given by the Coulomb part of the Weyl tensor. We then use this conjecture to sketch a possible backreaction scenario for plane waves.