Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 26, 2026

Volume operator

A quantum field theory of general relativity provides operators that measure the geometry of spacetime. The volume operator of a region is defined as the operator that yields the expectation value of a volume measurement of the region , given a state of quantum General Relativity. I.e. is the expectation value for the volume of . Loop Quantum Gravity, for example, provides volume operators, area operators and length operators for regions, surfaces and path respectively.

Last revised
Jun 26, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
141 w
Citations
Source

A quantum field theory of general relativity provides operators that measure the geometry of spacetime. The volume operator V ( R ) {\displaystyle V(R)} of a region R {\displaystyle R} is defined as the operator that yields the expectation value of a volume measurement of the region R {\displaystyle R} , given a state ψ {\displaystyle \psi } of quantum General Relativity. I.e. ψ , V ( R ) ψ {\displaystyle \langle \psi ,V(R)\psi \rangle } is the expectation value for the volume of R {\displaystyle R} . Loop Quantum Gravity, for example, provides volume operators, area operators and length operators for regions, surfaces and path respectively.

Sources

Sources