Talks

I'll discuss some work done in collaboration with Cliff Burgess, Louis Leblond and Sarah Shandera on the significance of the IR divergences in de Sitter space. First, I'll talk about how large fluctuations at long distances can induce the failure of the loop expansion for interacting field theories with massless degrees of freedom in de Sitter space, much in the same manner as happens in thermal field theories. Then I'll shift gears slightly and describe work involving the use of the dynamical renormalization group in resumming the secularly growing perturbative corrections to correlation functions for massless, minimally coupled scalar fields in de Sitter.

We discuss holographic models for the inflationary epoch. We show how cosmological observables such as the primordial spectrum and non-Gaussianities can be computed via computations of correlation functions of a dual three dimensional QFT (without gravity!) We present a general class of models that have the following universal features: (i) they have a nearly scale invariant spectrum of small amplitude primordial fluctuations, (ii) the scalar spectral index runs as alpha_s = - (n_s-1), (iii) the three point function of density perturbations is exactly equal to the sum of the local and equilateral form with f_{NL}^{local} = 6 f_{NL}^{equil} = 20/3.

It has long been recognized that there are two distinct laws that go by the name of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The original says that there can be no process resulting in a net decrease in the total entropy of all bodies involved. A consequence of the kinetic theory of heat is that this law will not be strictly true; statistical fluctuations will result in small spontaneous transfers of heat from a cooler to a warmer body. The currently accepted version of the Second Law is probabilistic: tiny spontaneous transfers of heat from a cooler to a warmer body will be occurring all the time, while a larger transfer is not impossible, merely improbable. There can be no process whose expected result is a net decrease in total entropy. According to Maxwell, the Second Law has only statistical validity, and this statement is easily read as an endorsement of the probabilistic version. I argue that a close reading of Maxwell, with attention to his use of "statistical," shows that the version of the second law endorsed by Maxwell is strictly weaker than our probabilistic version. According to Maxwell, even the probable truth of the second law is limited to situations in which we deal with matter only in bulk and are unable to observe or manipulate individual molecules. Maxwell's version does not rule out a device that could, predictably and reliably, transfer heat from a cooler to a warmer body without a compensating increase in entropy. I will discuss the evidence we have for these two laws, Maxwell's and ours.

Constraints on the formation of primordial black holes - especially the ones which are small enough to evaporate - provide a unique probe of the early universe, high energy physics and extra dimensions. For evaporating black holes, the dominant constraints are associated with big bang nucleosynthesis and the extragalactic photon background, but there are also other limits associated with the cosmic microwave background, cosmic rays and various types of relic particles. For larger non-evaporating black holes, important constraints come from their gravitational and astrophysical effects. Small non-primordial evaporating black holes may be produced in the LHC if there are large extra dimensions and this would also have important implications for the early universe.

We study time dependent couplings in conformal field theories using rotating probe branes in AdS X S spacetimes. We find that induced metrics on the brane worldvolumes develop horizons with characteristic Hawking temperatures even when there is no black hole in the bulk. This framework is used to obtain toy models for quantum quench.

The Bell Curve is an extremely beautiful and elegant mathematical object that turns up – often in surprising ways – in all spheres of human life. The Curve was first used by astronomers to correct errors in their observations, but it soon found important applications in the social and medical sciences in the eighteen hundreds. Some philosophers believe that a new kind of human being was created around this time largely due to the growth of statistical reasoning in the arts and sciences. Dr. Mighton will speak about the consequences of this new way of thinking about people, and further insights from his play called “Risk”, in which he is dramatizing these ideas. The Bell Curve also figures prominently in education as our school system is based on the implicit belief that there are natural, wide bell curves in achievement in students. In this lecture, Dr. Mighton will share evidence that this belief is false and he will describe how the arts and sciences, and society in general, might benefit if we rejected this belief.

Combining the principles of general relativity and quantum theory still remains as elusive as ever. Recent work, that concentrated on one of the points of contact (and conflict) between quantum theory and general relativity, suggests a new perspective on gravity. It appears that the gravitational dynamics in a wide class of theories - including, but not limited to, standard Einstein's theory - can be given a purely thermodynamic interpretation. In this approach gravity appears as an emergent phenomenon, like e.g., gas or fluid dynamics. I will describe the necessary background, key results and their implications as suggested by my recent work in this area.