Physics Colloquium: Ben Heidenreich, "New Approaches to Quantum Gravity and String Theory"
Please note this event occurred in the past.
September 18, 2024 3:45 pm - 5:00 pm ET
Hasbrouck 134. Refreshments at 3:45. Presentation begins at 4:00.
"New Approaches to Quantum Gravity and String Theory"
The unification of quantum mechanics and general relativity remains a mystery, with both its mathematical description as well as its experimental consequences still unknown. Advances in string theory provide compelling evidence that many mathematically-consistent quantum gravity theories (QGTs) exist, but do not construct them from first principles and have yet to answer which (if any) of them describes our universe.
The emerging "swampland" paradigm seeks to understand quantum gravity by identifying universal features in this vast “landscape” of QGTs. My talk will focus on a few central ideas in this program, such as the “Weak Gravity Conjecture” and the “Distance Conjecture”. I discuss the theoretical status of these ideas, rigorous theoretical tests that they have been subjected to, new perspectives that they provide on the string landscape, and what they might tell us about quantum gravity in general, including its long-term prospects for experimental verification.
"New Approaches to Quantum Gravity and String Theory"
The unification of quantum mechanics and general relativity remains a mystery, with both its mathematical description as well as its experimental consequences still unknown. Advances in string theory provide compelling evidence that many mathematically-consistent quantum gravity theories (QGTs) exist, but do not construct them from first principles and have yet to answer which (if any) of them describes our universe.
The emerging "swampland" paradigm seeks to understand quantum gravity by identifying universal features in this vast “landscape” of QGTs. My talk will focus on a few central ideas in this program, such as the “Weak Gravity Conjecture” and the “Distance Conjecture”. I discuss the theoretical status of these ideas, rigorous theoretical tests that they have been subjected to, new perspectives that they provide on the string landscape, and what they might tell us about quantum gravity in general, including its long-term prospects for experimental verification.