Effective field theory of gravity: Leading quantum gravitational corrections to Newton’s and Coulomb’s laws

Abstract

In this paper we consider general relativity and its combination with scalar quantum electrodynamics (QED) as an effective quantum field theory at energies well below the Planck scale. This enables us to compute the one-loop quantum corrections to the Newton and Coulomb potentials induced by the combination of graviton and photon fluctuations. We derive the relevant Feynman rules and compute the nonanalytical contributions to the one-loop scattering matrix for charged scalars in the nonrelativistic limit. In particular, we derive the post-Newtonian corrections of order $Gm/{\mathrm{c}}^{2}r$ from general relativity and the genuine quantum corrections of order $G\ensuremath{\hbar}/{\mathrm{c}}^{3}{r}^{2}$.