Asymptotic Freedom and Euclidean Quantum Gravity

Pure SU(2) gauge theory is the simplest asymptotically free theory in four dimensions. To investigate Euclidean quantum gravity effects in a fundamental length scenario, we simulate 4$d$ SU(2) lattice gauge theory on a dynamically coupled Regge skeleton. The fluctuations of the skeleton are governed by the standard Regge-Einstein action. From a small $2\cdot 4^3$ lattice we report exploratory numerical results, limited to a region of strong gravity where the Planck mass and hadronic masses take similar orders of magnitude. We find a range of the Planck mass where stable bulk expectation values are obtained which vary smoothly with the gauge coupling, and a remnant of the QCD deconfining phase transition is located. Note: The full ps file of this preprint is also available via anonymous ftp to ftp.scri.fsu.edu. To get the ps file, ftp to this address and use for username "anonymous" and for password your name. The file is in the directory pub/krishnan (to go to that directory type: cd pub/krishnan) and is called gravity.ps (to get it type: get gravity.ps). If you have any problems send mail to krishnan@ds1.scri.fsu.edu.