Leveraging a boundary perspective on black holes and gravitational radiation.
In a seminal 1997 paper, Juan Maldacena provided the first very concrete examples of an equivalence between certain non-gravitational quantum systems, known as Conformal Field Theories (CFTs) and higher-dimensional gravitational theories in asymptotically Anti de Sitter (AdS) spaces. This discovery has opened the avenue for several developments linking apparently very different areas of theoretical physics, from insights on the black hole information paradox to the study of strongly coupled matter relevant for instance for describing neutron stars. By now, holography and CFT techniques in general represent one of the standard tools theorists use for analyzing the intriguing properties of black holes that provide a first window on the questions around the nature of quantum gravity. For this purpose it is often useful to start from idealised situations in various spacetime dimensions, possibly in presence of supersymmetry, where one can use an explicit analytic approach. The general lessons emerging from this analysis are expected to have a very general validity and provide a reliable theoretical framework where theorists can address the challenge to identify the allowed and interesting modification of General Relativity.
A microstate mimicking an extremal AdS black hole
[Credit: I. Bena, S Giusto, E. J. Martinec, R. Russo,M. Shigemori, D. Turton, and N. P. Warner, 1607.03908]
The new generation of Gravitational Wave detectors promises a wealth of new data probing black holes and General Relativity in extreme situations. This will certainly present new challenges in our understanding of black holes: one of the key aims of our collaboration in this area is provide concrete links between the latest theoretical developments and the new data-driven questions.
GWI members working on holographic approaches include:
(See Our Members for contact links)