Proton Decay and the Quantum Structure of Spacetime

Abstract: Virtual black holes in noncommutative spacetime are investigated using coordinate coherent state formalism such that the event horizon of black hole is manipulated by smearing it with a Gaussian of width $ \sqrt \theta $, where $ \theta$ is the noncommutativity parameter. Proton lifetime, the main associated phenomenology of the noncommutative virtual black holes, has been studied: first in $4$ dimensional spacetime and then generalized to $D$ dimensions. The lifetime depends on $ \theta$ and the number of spacetime dimensions such that it emphasizes on the measurement of proton lifetime as a potential probe for the micro-structure of spacetime.