Towards Gravity from the Quantum

Abstract

We review quantum causal histories starting with their interpretations as a quantum field theory on a causal set and a quantum geometry. We discuss the difficulties that background independent theories based on quantum geometry encounter in deriving general relativity as the low energy limit. We then suggest that general relativity should be viewed as a strictly effective theory coming from a fundamental theory with no geometric degrees of freedom. The basic idea is that an effective theory is characterized by effective coherent degrees of freedom and their interactions. Having formulated the pre-geometric background independent theory as a quantum information theoretic processor, we are able to use the method of noiseless subsystems to extract such coherent (protected) excitations. We follow the consequences, in particular, the implications of effective locality and time.