Hi all,
Forgot to check the calendar for the exact start time before sending the announcement. We start tomorrow at 3:30.
Best,
-joe
On Mon, May 18, 2020 at 12:09 PM Joe Renes joerenes@gmail.com wrote:
Hi all,
Tomorrow Sebastian Stengele will present the results of his master thesis, on "Superpositions of Spacetimes in the Low Velocity Limit". See below for the abstract. The zoom link is https://ethz.zoom.us/j/362994444.
Best,
-joe
Abstract:
The unification of quantum mechanics and general relativity, two of the most successful
theories in physics, poses immense difficulties, such as the problem of time. Recent works
have started to investigate low energy effects at this interface, probing the quantum nature of
spacetime. This thesis starts with the assumption that a superposition of masses leads to a
superposition of spacetimes. We formalize this notion under the additional assumption of low
velocities. To illustrate these ideas, we simulate the gravitational quantum switch. We then
present a scheme to map out spacetime using signals, as an operational way to distinguish
spacetimes. The second part brings clocks into the picture. We derive a decoherence effect
of a large mass near a clock and a minimal uncertainty for a clock in a gravitational field.