Objective
This proposal is concerned with developing and exploiting the remarkable connections between many relativistic and nonrelativistic matter systems on the one hand, and gravitating systems on the other. These connections are implied by the correspondence between gauge quantum field theory and quantum gravity (the gauge/gravity correspondence ) that is a characteristic feature of string theory, which unifies gravity and Yang-Mills gauge theory in a fundamental manner. There are several interrelated objectives: (1) Strongly coupled non-gravitational systems. The aim is to make use of the gauge/gravity equivalence to further our understanding of particularly interesting matter systems that are intrinsically strongly coupled and for which there are therefore few other calculational tools available. Systems of this type include high energy collisions of heavy ions, systems exhibiting quantum criticality, such as high temperature and heavy fermion superconductors, and quarks confined within hadrons by the strong force. (2) Strongly coupled gravitational systems. The aim here is to make use of the gauge/gravity equivalence to deduce properties of gravitational systems at high curvature, starting from weakly coupled gauge theory. The aim is to study: (a) cosmological singularities and the evolution of the early universe in the big-bang era; {b) quantum properties of black holes. (3) Developing the structure of the gauge/gravity correspondence. The projects outlined above rely on further developing the geometrical structure of string theory. The proposal focuses on two crucial aspects: (a) The exact integrability of string theory in anti de Sitter space and the corresponding Yang-Mills gauge quantum field theory, which leads to powerful exact results. (b) The detailed manner in which string theory extends Einstein's general theory of relativity at ultrashort distances, which is crucial for realizing non-perturbative symmetries.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsfermions
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesquantum physicsquantum field theory
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyastrophysicsblack holes
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsquarks
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsstring theory
Call for proposal
ERC-2009-AdG
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
ERC-AG - ERC Advanced GrantHost institution
CB2 1TN Cambridge
United Kingdom