PIRSA:25060007

Gravity As An Oracle (Vision Talk)

Bousso, R. (2025). Gravity As An Oracle (Vision Talk). Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/25060007

Bousso, Raphael. Gravity As An Oracle (Vision Talk). Perimeter Institute, Jun. 23, 2025, https://pirsa.org/25060007 

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:25060007,
            doi = {10.48660/25060007},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/25060007},
            author = {Bousso, Raphael},
            keywords = {Quantum Gravity, Quantum Information},
            language = {en},
            title = {Gravity As An Oracle (Vision Talk)},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2025},
            month = {jun},
            note = {PIRSA:25060007 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }

Raphael Bousso University of California, Berkeley

Talk numberPIRSA:25060007
DOI10.48660/25060007
Collection
Talk Type Conference
Subject

Abstract

Our search for a quantum theory of gravity is aided by a unique and perplexing feature of the classical theory: General Relativity “knows” about its own quantum states (the entropy of a black hole), and about those of all matter (via the Quantum Focusing Conjecture). The results we are able to extract from classical gravity are inherently non-perturbative and increasingly sophisticated. Recent breakthroughs include a derivation of the entropy of Hawking radiation, a computation of the exact integer number of states of some black holes, a proof of the QFC, and the construction of gravitational holograms in general spacetimes. The nature of the oracle, and its full power, remain unknown.