White Holes: Are they out there?
Explore black hole evolution, question singularities, and delve into quantum gravity in Carlo Rovelli’s ‘White Holes.’
February 2024
Flaminia Giacomini
ETH ZürichQuantum effects in gravity beyond the Newton potential from a delocalised quantum source
Understanding the fundamental nature of gravity at the interface with quantum theory is a major open question in theoretical physics. Recently, the study of gravitating quantum systems, for instance a massive quantum system prepared in a quantum superposition of positions and sourcing a gravitational field, has attracted a lot of attention: experiments are working towards realising such a scenario in the laboratory, and measuring the gravitational field associated to a quantum source is expected to give some information about quantum aspects of gravity. However, there are still open questions concerning the precise conclusions that these experiments could draw on the nature of gravity, such as whether experiments in this regime will be able to test more than the Newtonian part of the gravitational field. In this talk, I will show that a static mass in a quantum state gives rise to effects that cannot be reproduced using the Newton potential nor with a known classical model of gravity. These effects can in principle be measured by performing an interference experiment, and are independent of graviton emission.
Identifying stronger quantum aspects of gravity than those reproducible with the Newton potential is crucial to prove the nonclassicality of the gravitational field and to plan a new generation of experiments testing quantum aspects of gravity in a broader sense than what proposed so far.
Public Talk – May 14th 2024 by Prof. Carlo Rovelli
Prof. Carlo Rovelli – White Holes – Vienna City Hall
Renormalization of conformal infinity as a stretched horizon
In this paper, we provide a comprehensive study of asymptotically flat spacetime in even dimensions $dgeq 4$. We analyze the most general boundary condition and asymptotic symmetry compatible with Penrose’s definition of asymptotic null infinity $mathscr{I}$ through conformal compactification. Following Penrose’s prescription and using a minimal version of the Bondi-Sachs gauge, we show that $mathscr{I}$ is naturally equipped with a Carrollian stress tensor whose radial derivative defines the asymptotic Weyl tensor. This analysis describes asymptotic infinity as a stretched horizon in the conformally compactified spacetime. We establish that charge aspects conservation can be written as Carrollian Bianchi identities for the asymptotic Weyl tensor. We then provide a covariant renormalization for the asymptotic symplectic potential, which results in a finite symplectic flux and asymptotic charges.
Horizons and Null Infinity: A Fugue in 4 voices
Black hole horizons in equilibrium and null infinity of asymptotically flat space-times are null 3-manifolds but have very different physical connotations. We first show that they share a large number of geometric properties, making them both weakly isolated horizons. We then use this new unified perspective to unravel the origin of the drastic differences in the physics they contain. Interestingly, the themes are woven together in a manner reminiscent of voices in a fugue.
Minimum Detection Efficiencies for Loophole-free Genuine Nonlocality Tests
The certification of quantum nonlocality, which has immense significance in architecting device-independent technologies, confronts severe experimental challenges. Detection loophole, originating from the unavailability of perfect detectors, is one of the major issues amongst them. In the present study we focus on the minimum detection efficiency (MDE) required to detect various forms of genuine nonlocality, originating from the type of causal constraints imposed on the involved parties. In this context, we demonstrate that the MDE needed to manifest the recently suggested $T_2$-type nonlocality deviates significantly from perfection. Additionally, we have computed the MDE necessary to manifest Svetlichny’s nonlocality, with state-independent approach markedly reducing the previously established bound. Finally, considering the inevitable existence of noise we demonstrate the robustness of the imperfect detectors to certify $T_2$-type nonlocality.
Carrollian $Lw_{1+infty}$ representation from twistor space
We construct an explicit realization of the action of the $Lw_{1+infty}$ loop algebra on fields at null infinity. This action is directly derived by Penrose transform of the geometrical action of $Lw_{1+infty}$ symmetries in twistor space, ensuring that it forms a representation of the algebra. Finally, we show that this action coincides with the canonical action of $Lw_{1+infty}$ Noether charges on the asymptotic phase space.