Related papers: Gravity, particle physics and their unification
Bekenstein and Mukhanov have put forward the idea that, in a quantum theory of gravity a black hole should have a discrete mass spectrum with a concomitant {\it discrete} line emission. We note that a direct consequence of this intriguing…
String theory tells us that quantum gravity has a dual description as a field theory (without gravity). We use the field theory dual to ask what happens to an object as it falls into the simplest black hole: the 2-charge extremal hole. In…
Amidst all candidates of physics beyond the Standard Model, string theory provides a unique proposal for incorporating gauge and gravitational interactions. In string theory, a four-dimensional theory that unifies quantum mechanics and…
We give an exact solution for the static force between two black holes at the turning points in their binary motion. The results are derived by Gibbs' principle and the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy applied to the apparent horizon surfaces in…
In these lectures I discuss various unsolved problems of string theory and their relations to quantum gravity, 3d Ising model, large N QCD, and quantum cosmology. No solutions are presented but some new and perhaps useful approaches are…
In an attempt to re-establish space-time as an essential frame for formulating quantum gravity - rather than an "emergent" one -, we find that exact invariance under scale transformations is an essential new ingredient for such a theory.…
We describe the basic assumptions and key results of loop quantum gravity, which is a background independent approach to quantum gravity. The emphasis is on the basic physical principles and how one deduces predictions from them, at a level…
We show that the concept of entropy and the dynamics of gravitation provide the linchpin in a unified scheme to understand the physics of black hole computers, space-time foam, dark energy, dark matter and the phenomenon of turbulence. We…
We give an overview of the field of quantum gravity, string theory and black holes summarizing various white papers in this subject that were submitted as part of the Snowmass process.
The issue of black hole entropy is reexamined within a finite lattice framework along the lines of Wheeler, 't Hooft and Susskind, with an additional criterion to identify physical horizon states contributing to the entropy. As a…
The vacuum of quantum fields contains correlated fluctuations. When restricted to one side of a surface these have a huge entropy of entanglement that scales with the surface area. If UV physics renders this entropy finite, then a…
We review some results on the connection among supergravity central charges, BPS states and Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. In particular, N=2 supergravity in four dimensions is studied in detail. For higher N supergravities we just give an…
Some of the extremal black hole solutions in string theory have the same quantum numbers as the Bogomol'nyi saturated elementary string states. We explore the possibility that these black holes can be identified to elementary string…
The main obstacle in attempts to construct a consistent quantum gravity is the absence of independent flat time. This can in principle be cured by going out to higher dimensions. The modern paradigm assumes that the fundamental theory of…
We describe a theory amalgamating quantum theory and general relativity through the identification of a continuous 4-dimensional spacetime arena constructed from the substructures of a generalised multi-dimensional form for proper time. In…
We discuss different formulations and approaches to string theory and $ 2d$ quantum gravity. The generic idea to get a unique description of {\it many} different string vacua altogether is demonstrated on the examples in $ 2d$ conformal,…
I review recent progress on the connection between string theory and quantum chromodynamics in the context of the gauge/gravity duality. Emphasis is placed on conciseness and conceptual aspects rather than on technical details. Topics…
It is known that the semiclassical approximation to the gravity path integral can be leveraged to explain certain inherently quantum aspects of gravity. One such aspect is the state-counting interpretation of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy…
In this work we derive a generalized Newtonian gravitational force and show that it can account for the anomalous galactic rotation curves. We derive the entropy-area relationship applying the Feynman-Hibbs procedure to the supersymmetric…
It is hoped that these lectures will give a point of entry into that vast web of related ideas that go under the name "string theory". I start with a more or less qualitative introduction to gravity as a field theory and sketch how one…