Abstract:
The problem of how to couple classical and quantum degrees of freedom to one another is a tricky one since these two areas of physics obey qualitatively different laws that are assumed to hold in very different regimes. In particular, since quantum gravity is still out of reach, the question of how quantum fields interact with classical gravity doesn’t have a universally accepted answer, and some of the most famous open problems of cosmology and black hole physics can be seen to result from this blind spot. In this talk, I will discuss how one may analytically and numerically obtain new insight into the coupled dynamics of quantum and classical degrees of freedom. Non-gravitational field theory models involving colliding topological defects will be used as stand-ins for the more complex case of gravitational collapse in the presence of Hawking radiation.
Important: This seminar is held in building D-11 room 104.