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Profile
| Academic position | Full Professor |
|---|---|
| Research fields | Theoretical Physics |
| Keywords | quantum gravity, group field theory, discrete graviy, loop quantum gravity, spin foam models |
| Honours and awards | 2018: Heisenberg Grant (DFG) 2008: Sofja Kovalevskaja Prize 2005: Votruba Prize 2000: Antonio Stanghellini Prize |
Current contact address
| Country | Spain |
|---|---|
| City | Madrid |
| Institution | Universidad Complutense de Madrid |
| Institute | Facultad de Ciencias Fisicas, Departamento de Fisica Teorica |
Host during sponsorship
| Prof. Dr. Thomas K. Thiemann | Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut), Golm |
|---|---|
| Prof. Dr. Hermann Nicolai | Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut), Golm |
| Start of initial sponsorship | 01/12/2008 |
Programme(s)
| 2008 | Sofja Kovalevskaja Award Programme |
|---|
Nominator's project description
| One of the most important open questions in foundational physics is how to consistently combine the principles of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity with those of Quantum theory. While all other forces of nature have been successfully quantised, gravity stubbornly resists to be reconciled with Heisenberg's uncertainty relation. A quantum theory of space and time, called Quantum Gravity, would not only revolutionise physics. It could also drastically change our view of the origin of all being. For instance, Quantum Gravity could tell that the current big bang theory is obsolete, that there was a time before the big bang. One of the most popular approaches to a quantum theory of space and time is Loop Quantum Gravity which today is a serious alternative to string theory and which also makes different predictions. For instance, in Loop Quantum Gravity the possible measurement values of geometrical quantities, such as the length of an object, are quantised. The atoms of geometry consist of tiny loops whose lengths are quantised in units of the Planck length of 10^-33 cm. Similar to the discrete emission spectra of atoms, in Loop Quantum Gravity a black hole can emit Hawking radiation in quantised frequencies only. One of the remaining challenges for the theory, which will ultimately decide whether it will be successful, is the quantisation of the heart of General Relativity, namely Einstein's field equations. This is the research topic of Dr. Oriti. With the aid of the mathematical apparatus of group field theory, Dr. Oriti together with his collaborators succeeded to give an elegant mathematical formulation of the possible quantum evolutions of the loops in terms of so called spin foam models. Dr. Oriti's results are fundamental for the frontier of current research: To find that spin foam model which in the semiclassical regime of negligible quantum fluctuations reproduces the classical Einstein equations. |