Stochastic gravity

Abstract

Gravity is treated as a stochastic phenomenon based on fluctuations of the metric tensor of general relativity. By using a (3+1) slicing of spacetime, a Langevin equation for the dynamical conjugate momentum and a Fokker-Planck equation for its probability distribution are derived. The Raychaudhuri equation for a congruence of timelike or null geodesics leads to a stochastic differential equation for the expansion parameter $\theta$ in terms of the proper time $s$. For sufficiently strong metric fluctuations, it is shown that caustic singularities in spacetime can be avoided for converging geodesics. The formalism is applied to the gravitational collapse of a star and the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological model. It is found that owing to the stochastic behavior of the geometry, the singularity in gravitational collapse and the big-bang have a zero probability of occurring. Moreover, as a star collapses the probability of a distant observer seeing an infinite red shift at the Schwarzschild radius of the star is zero. Therefore, there is a vanishing probability of a Schwarzschild black hole event horizon forming during gravitational collapse.