RUI: Weaving Space with Quantum Entanglement, and Black Holes in Stochastic Matrix Theory

RUI：用量子纠缠编织空间，以及随机矩阵理论中的黑洞

基本信息

批准号：
2109420
负责人：
Vatche Sahakian
金额：
$ 13.5万
依托单位：
Harvey Mudd College
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2021
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2021-08-15 至 2024-07-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2109420&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
RUI Weaving Space Quantum Entanglement

项目摘要

This award funds the research activities of Professor Vatche Sahakian at Harvey Mudd College. One of the most significant tensions in modern physics lies at the junction between our understanding of the gravitational force through Einstein's theory of General Relativity, and the state-of-the-art description of the microscopic world through Quantum Mechanics. As part of his research, Professor Sahakian will investigate this tension by exploring new ideas that suggest that the perception of space, time, and gravity can be viewed as emergent from more fundamental principles in Quantum Mechanics. As a result, this research advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science at a foundational level: exploration of our understanding of the physical laws through inconsistencies between two pillars of modern physics. This project is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts. Undergraduate students will be involved in the research, and thus the project provides critical training for junior physicists beginning research in theoretical physics. Professor Sahakian will also give public lectures on this research and he will continue to develop new course curricula supporting research in theoretical physics. More technically, Professor Sahakian will explore several key ideas in string theory and quantum gravity: the possibility that resolution of the clash between quantum mechanics and general relativity might lie in a rethinking of the nature of spacetime as an emergent phenomenon arising from quantum entanglement, and the development of new computational techniques in quantum gravity to explore the character of the black hole horizon. The research goals of this project are to achieve a better understanding of the mechanics through which the fabric of spacetime can arise through entanglement entropy, as an emergent collective phenomenon of underlying microscopic dynamics in string theory; to develop new computational numerical techniques that allow for exploration of quantum gravity in new regimes; and to better understand the nature of the black hole horizon using newly developed non-perturbative techniques. This project addresses fundamental questions in two general areas: emergent spacetime through quantum information theory, and stochastic quantization in quantum gravity. Professor Sahakian will also develop an undergraduate course on modern topics in theoretical physics, providing students with solid foundations for graduate school, and prepare an undergraduate textbook on classical field theory. He will also engage in course development on high performance numerical computation in physics including exposure to machine learning and deep neural networks. Finally, a public lecture series will be implemented, bringing accessible presentations of modern physics topics to the wider community.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该奖项资助哈维穆德学院 Vatche Sahakian 教授的研究活动。现代物理学中最重要的张力之一在于我们通过爱因斯坦的广义相对论对引力的理解与通过量子力学对微观世界的最先进的描述之间的结合点。作为其研究的一部分，萨哈基安教授将通过探索新的想法来研究这种张力，这些新的想法表明对空间、时间和重力的感知可以被视为源自量子力学的更基本原理。因此，这项研究通过在基础层面上促进科学进步来促进国家利益：通过现代物理学两大支柱之间的不一致来探索我们对物理定律的理解。该项目预计还将产生更广泛的影响。本科生将参与这项研究，因此该项目为开始理论物理研究的初级物理学家提供了关键的培训。萨哈基安教授还将就这项研究发表公开讲座，他将继续开发支持理论物理研究的新课程。从技术上讲，萨哈基安教授将探讨弦理论和量子引力中的几个关键思想：解决量子力学和广义相对论之间冲突的可能性可能在于重新思考时空的本质，作为量子纠缠产生的新兴现象，以及量子引力新计算技术的发展，以探索黑洞视界的特征。该项目的研究目标是更好地理解时空结构通过纠缠熵产生的力学，作为弦理论中潜在微观动力学的一种新兴集体现象；开发新的计算数值技术，以便在新的领域探索量子引力；并使用新开发的非微扰技术更好地了解黑洞视界的性质。该项目解决了两个一般领域的基本问题：通过量子信息理论出现的时空，以及量子引力中的随机量子化。萨哈基安教授还将开发一门关于理论物理现代主题的本科课程，为学生进入研究生院打下坚实的基础，并编写一本关于经典场论的本科教材。他还将参与物理学高性能数值计算的课程开发，包括接触机器学习和深度神经网络。最后，将实施公开讲座系列，为更广泛的社区带来现代物理学主题的易于理解的演示。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。