QEAH · Quantum Entanglement And Holography

Quantum Entanglement And Holography

The overall objective of this project was to shed light on quantum aspects of gravity through the AdS/CFT correspondence. To give a flavor of the specific problem addressed, let us discuss black holes. Black holes were predicted theoretically from Einstein's theory of general relativity in 1916, but still, a century later, continue to inspire awe and trigger our imagination. Why? For the simple reason that we know very little about them. Scientists are still debating about what would happen if an observer fell into a black hole. It was long suggested that gravity would stretch the observer out until death would occur, some time before he or she reached the centre of the black hole (the singularity). However, recent studies which attempted to incorporate some quantum effects suggested that the black hole horizon would behave like a fire-wall, causing instant death to the observer. The reason such debates survive a century after the black holes' theoretical prediction, is because we do not yet know how to reconcile Einstein's theory of relativity with quantum physics. Based on current ideas about string theory, the AdS/CFT correspondence and gravity, we expect that the quantum theory of gravity should be “holographic”. This means that there should exist a description of the physics of gravity in terms of a completely different theory. This alternative description is expected to be given by an ordinary quantum theory -- similar to the one which describes the binding of the constituent quarks and gluons into the nuclei of the atoms – but with one dimension less. It is in this sense that the alternative, holographic description of gravity can be thought of as fundamental, while gravity and spacetime, as emergent notion. This project does not directly address black hole physics, but paves the way to doing so by addressing a simpler issue first: the emergence of a shock-wave geometry from the quantum field theory dynamics. This is fundamental physics research and is important for society by definition. It caters to the basic need of every human being to understand the surrounding world. Beyond this, it is clear that pushing our boundaries of understanding in this direction will ultimately bring forth new technological advances. This si exactly what happened with a plethora of theoretical physics discoveries.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз