Details
Speaker Name/Affiliation
Prof. Daniel Harlow /MIT
When
-
Seminar Type
Location (Room)
Duane Physics Room G126
Event Details & Abstracts
Abstract: There has been quite a bit of recent progress on the quantum mechanics of black holes, but applying these methods to the universe as a whole seems to lead to the rather scandalous conclusion that quantum gravity in a closed universe has zero fundamental degrees of freedom. How can this possibly make sense? In this talk I will review these recent developments, and then propose a way to resolve the issue by explicitly including the observer as part of the system. The resolution is only good up to ambiguities which are exponentially small in the entropy of the observer.
The Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC) program supports university-based centers and institutes where the collective efforts of a larger group of individuals can enable transformational advances in the most promising research areas. The program is designed to foster major breakthroughs at the intellectual frontiers of physics by providing needed resources such as combinations of talents, skills, disciplines, and/or specialized infrastructure, not usually available to individual investigators or small groups, in an environment in which the collective efforts of the larger group can be shown to be seminal to promoting significant progress in the science and the education of students. PFCs also include creative, substantive activities aimed at enhancing education, broadening participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, and outreach to the scientific community and general public.