- #Quantom field theory in curved space for dummies how to
- #Quantom field theory in curved space for dummies verification
Or maybe you need more dimensions - how many dimensions are required is part of the problem to be solved. In a similar way, perhaps the four-dimensional geometry of spacetime could be encoded in the math of quantum physics operating in three-dimensions. Think of a hologram - a flat, two-dimensional surface that incorporates a three-dimensional image. Studies of anti de Sitter space suggest, for instance, that the math describing gravity (that is, spacetime geometry) can be equivalent to the math of quantum physics in a space of one less dimension. “Quantum gravity is sufficiently rich and confusing that even toy universes can shed enormous light on the physics,” writes Swingle, of the University of Maryland.Ī strange type of spacetime with unusual curvature known as anti de Sitter space, illustrated here, is nothing like the universe we live in, but could nevertheless provide clues to the quantum processes that may be responsible for producing ordinary spacetime. But as a laboratory for studying theories of quantum gravity, it has a lot to offer. One such alternate, known as anti de Sitter space, is weirdly curved and tends to collapse on itself, rather than expanding as the universe we live in does. But clues to a possible path to progress have emerged from the theoretical study of alternate spacetime geometries, thinkable in principle but with unusual properties. Attempts to find coherent math that accommodates quantum weirdness with geometric gravity, though, have met formidable technical and conceptual roadblocks.Īt least that has long been so for attempts to understand ordinary spacetime. But so also has been quantum mechanics, which describes the machinations of matter and energy on the atomic scale with unerring accuracy. Einstein’s view of gravity as the manifestation of spacetime geometry has been enormously successful. Otherwise it’s hard to see how Einstein’s gravity and the math of quantum mechanics can reconcile their longstanding incompatibility. “Spacetime and gravity must ultimately emerge from something else,” writes physicist Brian Swingle in the 2018 Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics. Today’s revolution offers the potential for yet another rewrite of spacetime’s résumé, with the bonus of perhaps explaining why quantum mechanics seems so weird. Now a new revolution is on the verge of answering that question, based on insights from the other great physics surprise of the last century: quantum mechanics. Since it was something rather than nothing, it was natural to wonder where it came from.
#Quantom field theory in curved space for dummies verification
Verification of Einstein’s spacetime revolution came a century ago, when an eclipse expedition confirmed his general theory’s prime prediction (a precise amount of bending of light passing near the edge of a massive body, in this case the sun). “The emergence of spacetime and gravity is a mysterious phenomenon of quantum many-body physics that we would like to understand.” Brian Swingle It was the shape of spacetime that dictated the motion of massive bodies, a symmetric justice since massive bodies determined spacetime’s shape. Newton’s apparent force of attraction became an illusion perpetrated by spacetime geometry.
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That simple (hah!) truth explained gravity. And as Einstein showed in his general theory of relativity, matter and energy warped the spacetime surrounding it. Formerly independent and uniform, space and time became inseparable and variable. No longer did space and time provide a featureless backdrop for matter and energy. Events of physical reality performed independently on a neutral stage where actors strutted and fretted without influencing the rest of the theater.īut Einstein’s theories turned Newton’s absolute space and time into a relativistic mash-up - his equations suggested a merged spacetime, a new sort of arena in which the players altered the space of the playing field. Absolute space is also its own thing, “always similar and immovable.” Nothing to see there. Time “flows equably without relation to anything external,” he declared. Before then, almost everybody thought Isaac Newton had figured it all out.
#Quantom field theory in curved space for dummies how to
Of course, ever since Einstein, scientists have also been scratching their heads about how to make sense of space and time.
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It was all very clear except for the space and time part, the dimensions of real life. His Twilight Zone was a dimension of imagination, a dimension of sight and sound and mind, a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity.