Emergence in Cosmology Workshop

Emergence in cosmology workshop image: pink and purple nebula on black, starry background

Emergence in Cosmology Workshop

August 13, 2021, 9:00am-3:00pm EDT (via Zoom)

The early universe is described extremely well by linear perturbations evolving in a simple expanding universe model, described by classical general relativity.  An approximately scale invariant spectrum of nearly Gaussian, adiabatic curvature fluctuations accounts for observed anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background as well as baryon acoustic oscillations.  But how does this familiar classical picture emerge from the preceding quantum-gravity phase, when classical general relativity and its account of spacetime is expected to break down?  This workshop will, first, consider recent proposals to address this question based on matrix theory, a proposed non-perturbative definition of string theory.  We will also consider more general questions regarding what quantum gravity should be expected to achieve, such as resolving the initial singularity, and how the proposed sense of emergence compares to other cases.


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VIEW THE EMERGENCE IN COSMOLOGY WORKSHOP TALK ABSTRACTS

SPEAKERS

Karen Crowther (University of Oslo)
Sung-Sik Lee (McMaster University)
Joshua Norton (University of California, Irvine)
Sumit Das (University of Kentucky)
Suddhasattwa Brahma (McGill University)

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

9:00 – 9:45Karen Crowther: Four Attitudes Towards Singularities in the Search for a Theory of Quantum Gravity
9:45 – 10:30Sung-Sik Lee: Clock-Dependent Spacetime
10:30 – 10:45Break
10:45 – 11:30Joshua Norton: Suppressing Spacetime Emergence
11:30 – 12:00General Discussion
12:00 – 13:00Lunch
13:00 – 13:45Sumit Das: Emergent Cosmology from Quantum Quench in C=1 Matrix Model
13:45 – 14:30Suddho Brahma: Emergent Cosmology from the BFSS Matrix Model
14:30 – 15:00General Discussion
(All times above are Eastern Daylight Time)

Image credit: jordygoovaerts0 (license)

The Emergence in Cosmology Workshop is made possible by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, to Chris Smeenk and Jim Weatherall.