Why We Still Can’t Model Our Universe: A Guide to Quantum Gravity скачать в хорошем качестве

Why We Still Can’t Model Our Universe: A Guide to Quantum Gravity

Gabriele Gionti, S.J. (Vatican Observatory e LNF-INFN): Einstein’s General Relativity is a highly successful theory for describing the universe at solar system, galactic and extra-galactic scales. However, it encounters fundamental limits at the Planck scale (cm), where the emergence of singularities and the quantum nature of matter-energy suggest that the gravitational field itself must be quantized as has been done, successfully, at subatomic levels. Because traditional perturbative methods of Quantum Field Theory fail—leading to an infinite number of parameters and a loss of predictive power—physicists have developed several alternative frameworks: Loop Quantum Gravity, String Theory, Discrete & Functional Approaches, Quantum Regge Calculus and Dynamical Triangulations, Asymptotic Safety etc. This presentation aims to give the main ideas, in a popular way, of the leading candidates for a theory of Quantum Gravity