The Black Hole Information Paradox: a resolution on the horizon?

Event Date:
2025-01-28T16:00:00
2025-01-28T17:00:00
Event Location:
HENN 201
Speaker:
Netta Engelhardt, MIT
Related Upcoming Events:
Pioneers in Theoretical Physics
Intended Audience:
Everyone
Local Contact:

Gordon Semenoff (gordonws@phas.ubc.ca)

All are welcome to this colloquium series!

Refreshments will be provided before the talks at 3:45pm

Event Information:

Welcome to the fourth talk in our new Pioneers in Theoretical Physics Colloqium Series. 

On January 28th, we present Dr. Netta Engelhardt, professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Abstract:

Can quantum information escape from a black hole? General relativity and quantum mechanics, which govern the behavior of black holes and quantum information, respectively, do not agree on the answer. This disagreement is the essence of the famous nearly 50 year old Black Hole Information Paradox. Understanding the resolution of this problem is a central pillar in the quest for quantum gravity. Recently there has been an unprecedented amount of progress towards a resolution. I will describe the origin of the paradox, the current status in light of the new developments, and resulting new insights into high energy gravitational phenomena.

Bio:

Netta Engelhardt grew up in Jerusalem, Israel and Boston , MA. She received her BSc in physics and mathematics from Brandeis University and her PhD in physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University and a member of the Princeton Gravity Initiative prior to joining the physics faculty at MIT in July, 2019. 

She works on quantum gravity, primarily within the framework of the AdS/CFT correspondence. Her research focuses on understanding the dynamics of black holes in quantum gravity, leveraging insights from the interplay between gravity and quantum information via holography. Her current primary interests revolve around the black hole information paradox, the thermodynamic behaviour of black holes, and the cosmic censorship hypothesis (which conjectures that singularities are always hidden behind event horizons). 

 

Learn More:

Add to Calendar 2025-01-28T16:00:00 2025-01-28T17:00:00 The Black Hole Information Paradox: a resolution on the horizon? Event Information: Welcome to the fourth talk in our new Pioneers in Theoretical Physics Colloqium Series.  On January 28th, we present Dr. Netta Engelhardt, professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Abstract: Can quantum information escape from a black hole? General relativity and quantum mechanics, which govern the behavior of black holes and quantum information, respectively, do not agree on the answer. This disagreement is the essence of the famous nearly 50 year old Black Hole Information Paradox. Understanding the resolution of this problem is a central pillar in the quest for quantum gravity. Recently there has been an unprecedented amount of progress towards a resolution. I will describe the origin of the paradox, the current status in light of the new developments, and resulting new insights into high energy gravitational phenomena. Bio: Netta Engelhardt grew up in Jerusalem, Israel and Boston , MA. She received her BSc in physics and mathematics from Brandeis University and her PhD in physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University and a member of the Princeton Gravity Initiative prior to joining the physics faculty at MIT in July, 2019.  She works on quantum gravity, primarily within the framework of the AdS/CFT correspondence. Her research focuses on understanding the dynamics of black holes in quantum gravity, leveraging insights from the interplay between gravity and quantum information via holography. Her current primary interests revolve around the black hole information paradox, the thermodynamic behaviour of black holes, and the cosmic censorship hypothesis (which conjectures that singularities are always hidden behind event horizons).    Learn More: See her MIT faculty page: Netta Engelhardt » MIT Physics See her wikipedia page: Netta Engelhardt - Wikipedia See this article on a brief introduction to the AdS/CFT correspondence: lezionilosanna.pdf Black holes in the quantum realm: Extending classical black hole inequalities into the quantum realm More about the Black Hole paradox: Black hole paradox that stumped Stephen Hawking may have a solution, new paper claims | Live Science Event Location: HENN 201