Quantum Gravity

Quantum gravity is concerned with unifying Einstein's general theory of relativity with quantum theory into a single theoretical framework. At Perimeter Institute, researchers are actively pursuing a number of approaches to this problem including loop quantum gravity, spin foam models, asymptotic safety, emergent gravity, string theory, and causal set theory. We are also particularly interested in experimental implications of these different proposals. As the aim is a unification of the laws of physics into a single theory, the search for quantum gravity overlaps with other areas such as cosmology, particle physics and the foundations of quantum theory.

Displaying 973 - 984 of 1387

Universal problems

David Mattingly University of New Hampshire
April 17, 2014

PIRSA:14040074
Quantum Gravity
Quantum cosmology in Lorentz-violating gravity
April 10, 2014

PIRSA:14040079
Quantum Gravity
A non-commuting stabilizer formalism

Xiaotong Ni Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics - Albert Einstein Institute (AEI)
April 09, 2014

PIRSA:14040136
Quantum Foundations

Quantum Gravity
Quantum Gravity, Trees, and Polynomials

Fabien Vignes-Tourneret Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
April 03, 2014

PIRSA:14040134
Quantum Gravity
Possible Astrophysical Observables of Quantum Gravity Effects near Black Holes

Ue-Li Pen Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA)
March 27, 2014

PIRSA:14030115
Quantum Gravity
A one-dimensional action for simplicial gravity in three dimensions

Wolfgang Wieland University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
March 06, 2014

PIRSA:14030088
Quantum Gravity
Nonlocal cosmology

Richard Woodard University of Florida
February 27, 2014

PIRSA:14020137
Quantum Gravity
À la recherche du temps perdu - Templeton Frontiers Colloquia

Flavio Mercati University of Naples Federico II
February 26, 2014

PIRSA:14020100
Quantum Gravity
Quantum Raychaudhuri equation

Saurya Das University of Lethbridge
February 20, 2014

PIRSA:14020130
Quantum Gravity
Causality, holography, and entanglement entropy
February 20, 2014

PIRSA:14020146
Quantum Gravity

Quantum Fields and Strings

Condensed Matter

Strong Gravity
Non equilibrium thermodynamic of gravitational screens

Laurent Freidel Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
February 19, 2014

PIRSA:14020144
Quantum Gravity

Mathematical physics
Firewall evasion by quantum gravity

Ted Jacobson University of Maryland, College Park
February 13, 2014

PIRSA:14020136
Quantum Gravity

Universal problems

David Mattingly University of New Hampshire
April 17, 2014

PIRSA:14040074
Quantum Gravity
Arguments that gravity cannot be a local renormalizable quantum field theory come from both field theory lore and black hole physics. Two current approaches to quantum gravity, asymptotic safety and Horava-Lifshitz gravity, both of which treat quantum gravity as a local renormalizable QFT, are explicitly constructed to counter field theory arguments about the non-renormalizability of gravity. However, any proposed renormalizable theory of quantum gravity must also answer black hole physics based counter-arguments. Formulating these arguments concretely requires understanding black hole solutions and thermodynamics in these theories. For Horava-Lifshitz gravity this entails understanding the thermodynamics of universal horizons. I describe the current status of universal horizon physics and which aspects are/are not still in tension with the fundamental premise of renormalizability.
Quantum cosmology in Lorentz-violating gravity
April 10, 2014

PIRSA:14040079
Quantum Gravity
Lorentz invariance is considered a fundamental symmetry of physical theories. However, while Lorentz violations are strongly constrained in the matter sector, constraints in the gravitational sector are weaker, allowing to contemplate the idea of Lorentz-violating gravity theories. In this talk I will discuss the effects of Lorentz violations in the quantum cosmology scenario by analyzing the properties of a simple anisotropic model in the framework of Horava-Lifshitz gravity and, if time permitting, some partial results on the viability of this class of theories.
A non-commuting stabilizer formalism

Xiaotong Ni Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics - Albert Einstein Institute (AEI)
April 09, 2014

PIRSA:14040136
Quantum Foundations

Quantum Gravity
We propose a non-commutative extension of the Pauli stabilizer formalism. The aim is to describe a class of many-body quantum states which is richer than the standard Pauli stabilizer states. In our framework, stabilizer operators are tensor products of single-qubit operators drawn from the group {\alpha I, X,S}, where \alpha=e^{i\pi/4} and S=diag(1,i). We provide techniques to efficiently compute various properties, related to e.g. bipartite entanglement, expectation values of local observables, preparation by means of quantum circuits, parent Hamiltonians etc. We also highlight significant differences compared to the Pauli stabilizer formalism. In particular we give examples of states in our formalism which cannot arise in the Pauli stabilizer formalism, such as topological models that supports non-abelian anyons. This is a joint work with O. Buerschaper and M. van den Nest.
Quantum Gravity, Trees, and Polynomials

Fabien Vignes-Tourneret Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
April 03, 2014

PIRSA:14040134
Quantum Gravity
The perturbative series of colored group field theory are governed by a combinatorial 1/N-expansion. Controlling its coefficients is essential in order to understand the continuum limit. I will show how such a program is naturally related to higher-dimensional generalizations of trees in a colored Boulatov-Ooguri model, and present some partial results on the enumeration of such strucures in melonic graphs. This talk is mainly based on recent results by Baratin, Carrozza, Oriti, Ryan, and Smerlak ("Melonic phase transition in group field theory". arXiv: 1307.5026).
Possible Astrophysical Observables of Quantum Gravity Effects near Black Holes

Ue-Li Pen Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA)
March 27, 2014

PIRSA:14030115
Quantum Gravity
Recent implications of results from quantum information theory applied to black holes has led to the confusing conclusions that requires either abandoning the equivalence principle (e.g. the firewall picture), or the no-hair theorem (e.g. the fuzzball picture), or even more unpalatable options. The recent discovery of a pulsar orbiting a black hole opens up new possibilities for tests of theories of gravity. We examine possible observational effects of semiclassical quantum gravity in the vicinity of black holes, as probed by pulsars and event horizon telescope imaging of flares. Pulsar radiation is observable at wavelengths only two orders of magnitude shorter than the Hawking radiation, so precision interferometry of lensed pulsar images may shed light on the quantum gravitational processes and interaction of Hawking radiation with the spacetime near the black hole. This paper discusses the impact on the pulsar radiation interference pattern, which is observable through the modulation index in the foreseeable future, and discusses a possible classical limit of BHC.
A one-dimensional action for simplicial gravity in three dimensions

Wolfgang Wieland University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
March 06, 2014

PIRSA:14030088
Quantum Gravity
Loop quantum gravity has a spinorial representation. Spinors simplify the symplectic structure of the theory, but can they also teach us something about the dynamics? We study this question in three dimensions, and derive the Ponzano–-Regge model from a spinorial action. Our construction starts from the first-order Palatini formalism, and gives the discretised action in the spinorial representation. A one-dimensional refinement limit brings us back to a continuum theory. The three-dimensional action turns into a line integral over the edges of the discretisation. We compute the gauge-fixed path integral for a generic simplicial discretisation. The resulting amplitudes reproduce the Ponzano–-Regge model.
Nonlocal cosmology

Richard Woodard University of Florida
February 27, 2014

PIRSA:14020137
Quantum Gravity
I review a class of nonlocally modified gravity models which were proposed to explain the current phase of cosmic acceleration without dark energy. Among the topics considered are deriving causal and conserved field equations, adjusting the model to make it support a given expansion history, why these models do not require an elaborate screening mechanism to evade solar system tests, degrees of freedom and kinetic stability, and the negative verdict of structure formation. Although these simple models are not consistent with data on the growth of cosmic structures many of their features are likely to carry over to more complicated models which are in better agreement with the data.
À la recherche du temps perdu - Templeton Frontiers Colloquia

Flavio Mercati University of Naples Federico II
February 26, 2014

PIRSA:14020100
Quantum Gravity
Augustine of Hippo declared he knew what time is until someone asked him. After 16 centuries we still largely ignore the true essence of time, but we made definite progress in studying its properties. The most striking, and somewhat intuitively (and tragically) obvious one is the irreversibility of its flow. And yet, our fundamental theories are time-reversal invariant, they do not distinguish between past and future. This is usually accounted for by assuming an immensely special initial condition of the Universe, dressed with statistical arguments. In this talk, I will show how an irreversible behaviour, and with it a growth of complexity and information, can emerge from time-reversal invariant laws, without assuming any special initial condition and without thermodynamical arguments. This phenomenon is present in General Relativity, our most advanced theory of the Universe. This irreversibility will also allow me to propose a solution of another puzzle associated with time, namely the incompatibility between the quantum and the general-relativistic notions of time.
Quantum Raychaudhuri equation

Saurya Das University of Lethbridge
February 20, 2014

PIRSA:14020130
Quantum Gravity
We compute quantum corrections to the Raychaudhuri equation, by replacing classical geodesics with quantal (Bohmian) trajectories, and show that they prevent focusing of geodesics, and the formation of conjugate points. We discuss implications for the Hawking-Penrose singularity theorems, and for curvature singularities. Reference: arXiv: 1311.6539
Causality, holography, and entanglement entropy
February 20, 2014

PIRSA:14020146
Quantum Gravity

Quantum Fields and Strings

Condensed Matter

Strong Gravity
After giving a brief overview of holographic entanglement entropy formulas, I will explore a curious feature they imply: when the bulk spacetime includes a black hole, the entanglement entropies often appear to depend on the spacetime geometry inside the horizon. I will ask whether this implies any loss of causality in the field theory. To answer this question, I will present a new general-relativity theorem concerning the causal structure of asymptotically AdS spacetimes, which implies an interesting relationship between bulk and boundary causal domains.
Non equilibrium thermodynamic of gravitational screens

Laurent Freidel Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
February 19, 2014

PIRSA:14020144
Quantum Gravity

Mathematical physics
In this talk I will review the evidence for a mysterious and deep relationship between gravitational dynamics and thermodynamics. I will show how we can extend this connection to non equilibrium thermodynamics. Using the fact that the gravitational equations are fundamentally holographic, we express them in a way that shows a deep connection between gravity and the dynamics of viscous bubbles. We will explore some aspects of this surprising correspondence.
Firewall evasion by quantum gravity

Ted Jacobson University of Maryland, College Park
February 13, 2014

PIRSA:14020136
Quantum Gravity
It has been argued that if black hole evaporation is a unitary quantum process, then a black hole horizon must be cloaked by a "firewall", i.e. a highly excited state of local quantum fields. This reasoning is based on factorizing the Hilbert space into interior and exterior degrees of freedom. Such factorization ignores the Wheeler-deWitt constraint equation, which arises from the diffeomorphism invariance of quantum gravity. I will argue that this constraint evades the firewall.

Title	Speaker(s)	Date	Talk Type	Info link
Universal problems	David Mattingly	2014-04-17	Scientific Series	View details
Quantum cosmology in Lorentz-violating gravity		2014-04-10	Scientific Series	View details
A non-commuting stabilizer formalism	Xiaotong Ni	2014-04-09	Scientific Series	View details
Quantum Gravity, Trees, and Polynomials	Fabien Vignes-Tourneret	2014-04-03	Scientific Series	View details
Possible Astrophysical Observables of Quantum Gravity Effects near Black Holes	Ue-Li Pen	2014-03-27	Scientific Series	View details
A one-dimensional action for simplicial gravity in three dimensions	Wolfgang Wieland	2014-03-06	Scientific Series	View details
Nonlocal cosmology	Richard Woodard	2014-02-27	Scientific Series	View details
À la recherche du temps perdu - Templeton Frontiers Colloquia	Flavio Mercati	2014-02-26	Scientific Series	View details
Quantum Raychaudhuri equation	Saurya Das	2014-02-20	Scientific Series	View details
Causality, holography, and entanglement entropy		2014-02-20	Scientific Series	View details
Non equilibrium thermodynamic of gravitational screens	Laurent Freidel	2014-02-19	Scientific Series	View details
Firewall evasion by quantum gravity	Ted Jacobson	2014-02-13	Scientific Series	View details

Quantum Gravity

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