Gravitational Thermodynamics and the Quantum Nature of Space Time
Organiser
Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| de Wit, Bernard | Utrecht University |
| Figueroa-O'Farrill, José | University of Edinburgh |
| Simón, Joan | University of Edinburgh |
Copies of slides are now available via links within the timetable
String theory is a structurally rich theoretical framework in which a nontrivial extension of GR can be quantised. String theory has already led to a number of remarkable insights into the nature of the degrees of freedom (in the form of branes) underlying a black hole and into the resolution of timelike and null singularities, all without violating unitarity. These successes notwithstanding, important challenges remain, such as to understand
- space-like singularities, and more generally, time-dependent processes such as the microscopic interpretation of cosmological horizons;
- the observables of a generic background and their relation to the holographic principle;
- the relation of the latter with the thermodynamical description of cosmological horizons;
- the nonlocal nature of charges in GR; and
- the appearance of space time as an emergent concept and not as an a priori entity as in GR.
This workshop will be devoted to the above list of challenges, all of which are directed towards a better understanding of the quantum nature of space time and of the emergence of lorentzian geometry in the classical limit. There will be a contribution to local costs (including accommodation and some subsistence) from awards to ICMS and a small registration fee will be payable by all delegates. Participation is by invitation only.
Supporting Institutions:
EPSRC
LMS
Edinburgh Mathematical Society
IOP
Arrangements
Venue
The workshop will be held the Alrick Building, The Kings Buildings, off Mayfield Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ. King's Building's is the University of Edinburgh's south campus and is indicated by an arrow on this map of the city. Please note that you should enter the campus by Gate 4 on Mayfield Road; the Alrick Building is located on the right as you walk up the driveway at Gate 4. All lectures will take place in Classroom 10 on the ground floor of the Alrick Building, just inside the main entrance. Classroom 10 is equipped with a data projector, blackboards and an overhead projector. A laptop will be available for your use. Follow this link for information about the facilities at King's Builidngs.
Travel
Information about travel to the UK and Edinburgh is available here.
If you have requested accommodation (see below), travel information and directions to Pollock Halls can be found on the website for Edinburgh First, who co-ordinate the accommodation bookings, http://www.edinburghfirst.com/edinburghfirst/travel.asp . We recommend that you take a taxi to the Halls. It should cost around 5.00 GBP from the main railway station (Waverley Station) and between 16.00 and 20.00 GBP from Edinburgh airport. Alternatively there are frequent buses from the airport to Waverley Station, from where you can get a taxi to Pollock Halls.
Pollock Halls is approximately a 25 minute walk from the conference at Alrick Building. The second of these two maps of Pollock Halls shows the accommodation in relation to the location of the workshop at Kings Buildings (indicated at the very foot of the map). To walk, exit Pollock by Holyrood Park Road, cross Dalkeith Road and walk along Salisbury Road/Place until you reach Causewayside. Follow Causewayside away from the town centre until it becomes Mayfield Road. Enter King's Buildings campus by Gate 4. Alternatively, walk to Causewayside and get the 42 bus out to King's Buildings.
To get to the King's Building campus from the City Centre, take Lothian buses 42 or 24 from Hanover Street, just off Princes Street (42 is quicker!). Lothian buses charge £1.10 for a single, £2.50 for a day ticket. Please note that the exact fare is required - no change is given.
Accommodation
ICMS will reserve bedrooms for participants who indicate this preference on the on-line registration form. The rooms are hotel style, en-suite, and are located within Chancellor's Court which is superior, university accommodation at Pollock Halls of Residence. All rooms have a private shower, toilet, tea/coffee making facilities, TV and a telephone. A picture of a typical room is available here.
Pollock Halls of Residence
18 Holyrood Park Road
Edinburgh, EH16 5AY
Reception Contact Numbers
+44 (0)131 667 1971 (Tel)
+44 (0)131 668 3217 (Fax)
On arrival at Pollock Halls, please go to the Reception Building on your left, where you will pick up your key and some further information. You can get into your room after 14.00. If you arrive earlier you can leave your luggage at Reception. Pollock Halls has 24 hour reception.
Alternatively, participants may make their own accommodation arrangements; a list of Edinburgh accommodation of various sorts and prices can be found on the Accommodation Page on the ICMS website. Section 4 is particularly relevant. Early booking is advised.
Meals and Refreshments
A sandwich lunch will be provided on the first day of the workshop, Monday 16 June. For the remainder of the days, participants are free to go out for lunch and explore the sandwich shops and bars around the campus.
Morning and afternoon refreshments will be provided throughout the workshop.
A workshop dinner will take place at Blonde Restaurant on the evening of Thursday 19 June.
Public Lecture by Leonard Susskind
Photo Gallery from this event
At 18.00 on Monday 16 June, Leonard Susskind, the Felix Bloch Professor of Theoretical Physics at Stanford University, will give a lecture at The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), 22-26 George Street, Edinburgh. This is a joint event with the RSE and ICMS with support from the Edinburgh Mathematical Society (EMS). The lecture is entitled "The black hole war: the war that made the world safe for quantum mechanics" and further information about the lecture can be found here.
All workshop participants are invited to attend and seats have been reserved in the Lecture Theatre at the RSE (there is no need for you to inform us of your wish to attend). Following the lecture, at 19.00, there will be an informal wine reception at the RSE for workshop participants and any members of the public who have attended the lecture.
A coach has been organised to transport participants from the workshop venue at the Alrick Building to the RSE. The coach will depart from the Alrick Building at 17.15. The coach journey is one-way only as it is anticipated that participants will want to dine out in central Edinburgh after the lecture and wine reception.
Computer access
At Registration you will be issued with a username and password which will enable you to access either the wireless network or a public PC. The Alrick Building is within a wireless zone as are parts of Pollock Halls.
Financial Matters
The workshop grant will cover the cost of your single en-suite bed and breakfast accommodation at Pollock Halls for the duration of the workshop. Refreshments, lunch on the first day, the Monday evening wine reception at the RSE, and the workshop dinner will also be covered.
If you have been notified that you will receive reimbursement as a contribution towards travel costs, a claim form will be issued at Registration. You will be reimbursed after the workshop directly into your bank account in the currency of your choice. It will be useful if you bring your bank details to the workshop. Please note that receipts are required for all items claimed.
A registration fee of 40.00 GBP will be payable by all delegates unless otherwise stated in your invitation email. This can be paid at Registration by cash, sterling cheque or by giving credit/debit card details. If you would like to pay in advance, please complete this credit/debit card form and fax it to ICMS. The fax number is on the form. Please note that it is not secure to send your credit card details by email.
Programme
Monday 16 June
10.00 - 11.15 | Registration and coffee |
11.15 - 11.30 | Introduction and welcome |
11.30 - 12.30 | Roberto Emparan (ICREA & Universitat de Barcelona) |
12.30 - 14.30 | Lunch provided in Seminar Room D/E |
14.30 - 15.30 | Jan de Boer (Institute for Theoretical Physics, Amsterdam) |
15.30 - 16.00 | Coffee, tea and biscuits in Seminar Room D/E |
16.00 - 16.30 | Vishnu Jejjala (Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES) |
16.30 - 17.00 | Justin David (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore & Harish-Chandra Research Insitute, Allahabad) |
17.15 | Coach to RSE departs from Alrick Building |
18.00 - 19.00 | Public Lecture in the Lecture Theatre, RSE, 22-26 George Street Photo Gallery |
19.00 - 20.00 | Wine Reception in the Wellcome Room, RSE |
Tuesday 17 June
10.00 - 11.00 | Per Kraus (University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)) |
11.00 - 11.30 | Coffee, tea and biscuits in Seminar Room D/E |
11.30 - 12.00 | Marcos Mariño (University of Geneva) |
12.00 - 12.30 | Boris Pioline (LPTHE & LPTENS, Paris) |
12.30 - 14.30 | Lunch break |
14.30 - 15.30 | Sumit Das (University of Kentucky) |
15.30 - 16.00 | Coffee, tea and biscuits in Seminar Room D/E |
16.00 - 16.30 | Ben Craps (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) |
16.30 - 17.00 | Chong-Sun Chu (Durham University) |
Wednesday 18 June
10.00 - 11.00 | Gabriel Cardoso (University of Munich) |
11.00 - 11.30 | Coffee, tea and biscuits in Seminar Room D/E |
11.30 - 12.00 | Finn Larsen (University of Michigan and CERN) |
12.00 - 12.30 | Jerome Gauntlett (Imperial College London) |
12.30 - 14.00 | Lunch break |
14.00 - 14.30 | Djordje Minic (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) |
14.30 - 15.00 | Henriette Elvang (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) |
15.00 - 15.30 | Coffee, tea and biscuits in Seminar Room D/E |
15.30 - 16.00 | Asad Naqvi (Swansea University) |
16.00 - 16.30 | Horatiu Nastase (Global Edge Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology) |
16.30 - 17.00 | Mukund Rangamani (Durham University) |
Thursday 19 June
10.00 - 11.00 | Leonard Susskind (Stanford University) |
11.00 - 11.30 | Coffee, tea and biscuits in Seminar Room D/E |
11.30 - 12.00 | Thomas Levi (New York University) |
12.00 - 12.30 | Harvey Reall (University of Cambridge) |
12.30 - 14.30 | Lunch break |
14.30 - 15.30 | Samir Mathur (Ohio State University) |
15.30 - 16.00 | Coffee, tea and biscuits in Seminar Room D/E |
16.00 - 16.30 | Marika Taylor (Institute for Theoretical Physics, Amsterdam) |
16.30 - 17.00 | Donald Marolf (University of California, Santa Barbara) |
19.00 | Workshop dinner at Blonde Restaurant, 75 St Leonard's Street |
Friday 20 June
10.00 - 11.00 | Kostas Skenderis (Institute for Theoretical Physics, Amsterdam) |
11.00 - 11.30 | Coffee, tea and biscuits in Seminar Room D/E |
11.30 - 12.00 | Veronika Hubeny (Durham University) |
12.00 - 12.30 | Ted Jacobson (University of Maryland) |
12.30 - 14.30 | Lunch break and close of workshop |
Presentations
spacetimes and their gauge theory duals. For certain null singularities we argue
that the gauge theory is well defined and provides a possible resolution of
the singularity. For spacelike singularities we aim to understand the question : which kind of singularity can be possibly resolved in this fashion. The work is based on past and ongoing research with Adel Awad, K. Narayan and Sandip Trivedi.
quantum/string corrections. This allows for a unified treatment of black holes/strings/rings. It also sheds light on when and why we get agreement between microscopic and gravitational entropy computations.
Participants
Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| Gabriel, Cardoso | University of Munich |
| Chong-Sun, Chu | Durham University |
| Ben, Craps | Vrije Universiteit Brussel |
| Sumit, Das | University of Kentucky |
| Justin, David | Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore & Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad |
| Jan, de Boer | Institute for Theoretical Physics, Amsterdam |
| Paul, de Medeiros | University of Edinburgh |
| Bernard, de Wit | Utrecht University |
| Henriette, Elvang | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) |
| Roberto, Emparan | ICREA & Universitat de Barcelona |
| José, Figueroa-O'Farrill | University of Edinburgh |
| Bartomeu, Fiol | University of Barcelona |
| Dan, Freedman | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) |
| Jerome, Gauntlett | Imperial College London |
| Kevin, Goldstein | Universiteit Utrecht |
| Emily, Hackett-Jones | University of Edinburgh |
| Veronika, Hubeny | Durham University |
| Chris, Hull | Imperial College London |
| Ted, Jacobson | University of Maryland |
| Vishnu, Jejjala | University of the Witswatersrand |
| Stefanos, Katmadas | Universiteit Utrecht |
| Per, Kraus | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) |
| Finn, Larsen | University of Michigan and CERN |
| Thomas, Levi | New York University |
| Marcos, Mariño | University of Geneva |
| Donald, Marolf | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Samir, Mathur | Ohio State University |
| Robert, McNees | Perimeter Institute, Canada |
| Elena, Mendez-Escobar | University of Edinburgh |
| Djordje, Minic | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University |
| Thomas, Mohaupt | University of Liverpool |
| Asad, Naqvi | Swansea University |
| Horatiu, Nastase | Global Edge Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology |
| Boris, Pioline | LPTHE & LPTENS, Paris |
| Mukund, Rangamani | Durham University |
| Harvey, Reall | University of Cambridge |
| Patricia, Ritter | University of Edinburgh |
| Simon, Ross | Durham University |
| Masaki, Shigemori | Institute for Theoretical Physics, Amsterdam |
| Joan, Simón | University of Edinburgh |
| Kostas, Skenderis | Institute for Theoretical Physics, Amsterdam |
| Leonard, Susskind | Stanford University |
| Marika, Taylor | Institute for Theoretical Physics, Amsterdam |