Refreshments will be provided before the talks at 3:45pm.
Event Information:
We welcome you to our new Pioneers in Theoretical Physics Colloqium Series, starting this Fall, 2024.
On September 24th, we present Hirosi Ooguri, Fred Kavli Professor of Theoretical Physics & Mathematics, founding Director of the Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology, and University Professor at the University of Tokyo.
Abstract:
Superstring theory is the best candidate for the ultimate unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics. Although predictions of the theory are typically made at extremely high energies and beyond the reach of current experiments and observations, several non-trivial constraints have been found on its low-energy effective theory. Because of the unusual ultraviolet behavior of gravitational theory, the standard argument for the separation of scales does not work for gravity, leading to robust low-energy predictions of consistency requirements at high energy. For gravitational theories in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes, we can formulate such constraints and aim to prove or falsify them using the AdS/CFT correspondence. I will review recent progress in this approach. In particular, I will prove the absence of global symmetry in quantum gravity (based on my work with Daniel Harlow) and a part of the distance conjecture in three dimensions (based on my work with Yifan Wang) and discuss the consequences of these constraints.
Bio:
Ooguri studies quantum field theory, quantum gravity, and string theory. He explores mathematical structures in these theories and uses them to develop new theoretical tools for solving fundamental questions in physics. His work in physics has also inspired progress in mathematics.
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2024-09-24T16:00:002024-09-24T17:00:00Constraints on Quantum GravityEvent Information:
We welcome you to our new Pioneers in Theoretical Physics Colloqium Series, starting this Fall, 2024.
On September 24th, we present Hirosi Ooguri, Fred Kavli Professor of Theoretical Physics & Mathematics, founding Director of the Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology, and University Professor at the University of Tokyo.
Abstract:
Superstring theory is the best candidate for the ultimate unification of general relativity and quantum mechanics. Although predictions of the theory are typically made at extremely high energies and beyond the reach of current experiments and observations, several non-trivial constraints have been found on its low-energy effective theory. Because of the unusual ultraviolet behavior of gravitational theory, the standard argument for the separation of scales does not work for gravity, leading to robust low-energy predictions of consistency requirements at high energy. For gravitational theories in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes, we can formulate such constraints and aim to prove or falsify them using the AdS/CFT correspondence. I will review recent progress in this approach. In particular, I will prove the absence of global symmetry in quantum gravity (based on my work with Daniel Harlow) and a part of the distance conjecture in three dimensions (based on my work with Yifan Wang) and discuss the consequences of these constraints.
Bio:
Ooguri studies quantum field theory, quantum gravity, and string theory. He explores mathematical structures in these theories and uses them to develop new theoretical tools for solving fundamental questions in physics. His work in physics has also inspired progress in mathematics.
Links:
Ooguri's Caltech faculty page
Youtube playlist for Hirosi Ooguri's lectures on Topological String Theory (3 lectures)
Youtube playlist for Hirosi Ooguri science lectures
Event Location:
HENN 318
