Physics applications of asymptotically safe gravity (original) (raw)

The asymptotic safety approach to quantum gravity provides a nonperturbative notion of renormalization in order to find a consistent and predictive quantum field theory of the gravitational interaction and spacetime geometry. It is based upon a nontrivial fixed point of the corresponding renormalization group (RG) flow such that the running coupling constants approach this fixed point in the ultraviolet (UV) limit. This suffices to avoid divergences in physical observables. Moreover, it has predictive power: Generically an arbitrary starting configuration of coupling constants given at some RG scale does not run into the fixed point for increasing scale, but a subset of configurations might have the desired UV properties. For this reason it is possible that — assuming a particular set of c