Research in Gravitational Physics

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports a broad range of research in gravitational physics, including research projects in classical general relativity and quantum field theory in curved spacetime. The main aim of this research is to obtain a deeper understanding of the implications of Einstein's theory of general relativity for phenomena involving black holes, as well as the nature of quantum phenomena in strong gravitational fields. The research will involve the direct participation of graduate students in all aspects of the research, and it will thereby contribute to their training. The areas of research associated with this award are of considerable interest to the public, and activities will be undertaken, such as giving public lectures, that aid in the dissemination of scientific knowledge to the public. The specific research topics proposed include: An investigation of whether a memory effect can be defined for black holes in analogy to the memory effect at future null infinity; an analysis of whether it is possible for Hawking radiation to be entangled with vacuum fluctuations in the Minkowski region that remains after black hole evaporation, in such a way as to make the final state pure; an analysis of properties of self-force that can be deduced from canonical energy; an analysis of whether axisymmetric stability of Kerr can be proven/elucidated using the expression for canonical energy of a metric perturbation generated from a Hertz potential; a determination of whether---by use of field redefinition freedom---the equations derived by Holland and Hollands for the operator product expansion coefficients can be re-written in a form that is local in spacetime; an investigation of whether and how one can make sense of mathematically ill posed equations that are intended to represent effective field theories for alternatives to general relativity. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.