Holography, Black Holes, and Conformal Field Theory

全息术、黑洞和共形场论

• 批准号: SAPIN-2020-00047
• 负责人: Maloney, Alexander
• 金额: $ 6.56万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Subatomic Physics Envelope - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=741724
• 关键词: Holography; Black; Holes; Conformal; Field

I propose to investigate foundational questions at the interface of particle physics, gravitation, and cosmology. I will focus on basic conceptual puzzles in quantum gravity and quantum field theory, and in particular on problems related to the physics of black holes and conformal field theory. To address these questions I will use the holographic principle, our most powerful tool in the study of quantum gravity. Many of the deepest questions in theoretical physics involve black holes. What is the nature of a black hole event horizon? Do black holes destroy information? Previous attempts to address these questions have focused only on special classes of black holes, which differ qualitatively from those relevant for astrophysics. This shortcoming must be addressed if we are to understand the dynamics of realistic black holes, such as the one at the center of our galaxy. Many of the same questions arise in cosmology. Astronomical observations indicate that the universe began with a big bang singularity followed by a period of inflation, but in order to understand the very early universe we need a fully quantum theory of cosmology. We need new tools and techniques that will enable us to make sense of quantum gravity in regimes where general relativity breaks down. The most useful such tool is the holographic correspondence (or holography), which states that quantum gravity in a region of space is equivalent to a theory on the boundary of that region. In its most precise form, known as the Anti-de Sitter/Conformal Field Theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence, holography has allowed us to address these previously unsolvable problems in an exact manner. This has led to a remarkable relationship between the physics of black holes and that of conformal field theories (CFTs). CFTs are the basic building blocks of quantum field theory, and describe many of the most important models of particle, nuclear and condensed matter physics. I propose to apply powerful non-perturbative techniques inspired by holography and black hole physics to the study of conformal field theories. I also propose, conversely, to use insights and techniques from conformal field theory to study some of the deepest and most pressing questions in quantum gravity. The resulting cross-fertilization of ideas from different fields of research is one of the long-term goals of my research program. This will allow us to address some of the most fundamental and long-standing problems in theoretical physics - those concerning the basic structure of space-time and the origin of our observable universe from a big bang singularity.

我建议研究粒子物理学、引力和宇宙学交叉领域的基础问题，我将重点关注量子引力和量子场论中的基本概念难题，特别是与黑洞物理学和共形场论相关的问题。为了解决这些问题，我将使用全息原理，这是我们研究量子引力的最强大的工具。 理论物理学中的许多最深刻的问题都涉及黑洞，黑洞事件视界的本质是什么？以前尝试解决这些问题问题只集中于特殊类型的黑洞，它们与天体物理学相关的黑洞在性质上有所不同，如果我们要了解现实黑洞（例如银河系中心的黑洞）的动力学，则必须解决这一缺点。天文学观测表明，宇宙始于一次大爆炸奇点，随后经历了一段暴胀期，但为了理解非常早期的宇宙，我们需要一个完整的量子宇宙学理论。使我们能够在广义相对论失效的情况下理解量子引力的工具和技术，最有用的工具是全息对应（或全息术），它指出空间区域中的量子引力相当于一种理论。在该区域的边界上，全息术以其最精确的形式，即反德西特/共形场论（AdS/CFT）对应，使我们能够以精确的方式解决这些以前无法解决的问题。一个黑洞物理学与提出的共形场论 (CFT) 之间的显着关系是量子场论的基本构建模块，并描述了许多最重要的粒子、核和凝聚态物理模型。相反，我还建议利用受全息术和黑洞物理学启发的强大的非微扰技术来研究共形场论，以研究量子引力中一些最深刻和最紧迫的问题。结果不同研究领域的思想的交叉融合是我研究计划的长期目标之一，这将使我们能够解决理论物理学中一些最基本和长期存在的问题——那些涉及空间基本结构的问题。 -时间和我们可观测宇宙从大爆炸奇点的起源。