Project Details
Description
A number of projects in theoretical gravitational physics will be
completed. In the first set, issues pertaining to black holes will be
analyzed using a new paradigm, introduced recently by Ashtekar's
group. In particular, physical information will be extracted from
numerical simulations of black hole mergers in regions where gravity
is so strong that effects of Einstein's general relativity dominate.
In the second set, mathematical issues pertaining to the structure and
solutions of Einstein's general relativity will be resolved using
``Twistor theory'' introduced by Roger Penrose and developed by his
research group. The third set contains a number of projects pertaining
to quantum gravity, the theory that will unify general relativity with
quantum physics. Suitable approximation methods will be developed by
the research groups of Ashtekar and Pullin to better understand the
structure of a quantum gravity theory, that is being developed by the
PIs and others, and to make physical predictions which could be tested
in the near future.
These projects interlink several fields: general relativity,
computational physics, astrophysics, quantum theory and several
branches of geometry. For example, the first set of projects is based
on Einstein's equations of general relativity but the accurate
estimates of the mass and spin of the final black hole and of the
energy radiated in the process, obtained from them, will have impact
on astrophysics in general and to gravitational wave physics in
particular. The second set will use novel techniques from algebraic
geometry to solve Einstein's equations. Unification of general
relativity and quantum physics is perhaps the most outstanding open
problem in fundamental physics today. The proposed projects in the
third set combine sophisticated techniques from modern mathematics and
theoretical physics to probe the nature of space-time geometry at the
smallest scales conceivable today. Through his general relativity
theory, Einstein proposed that geometry is a physical entity. Some of
our projects are aimed at elevating Einstein's vision to the quantum
world showing, in particular, that matter, radiation and geometry can
be converted in to one another through quantum processes involving
gravity. Other projects will use astronomical observations of gamma
ray bursts from ongoing NASA missions to directly probe the
ramifications of these novel quantum effects. This will be among the
first systematic efforts at confronting the rather abstract quantum
gravity theory with concrete experiments.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 1/1/01 → 12/31/05 |
Funding
- National Science Foundation: $1,498,620.00