DIPARTIMENTO DI MATEMATICA E FISICA
“NICCOLÒ TARTAGLIA”
Gravity, Quantum theory
and Thermodynamics:
some directions
Interviene
Dott. Giovanni Acquaviva
Dipartimento di Fisica - Università degli Studi di Trento
Abstract:
General Relativity (GR) represents one of the 20th century milestones of theoretical physics. On one hand, as a
geometric theory of gravitational interaction, it has produced a great variety of answers to cosmological nd astrophysical dilemmas.
On the other hand, it represents the sector of fundamental interactions still suffering for a lack of a consistent quantum description:
in fact, usually, in order to treat quantum effects in the context of GR, the ields involved are quantized in a classical gravitational
background. Notwithstanding this seemingly partial approach, the method has led to interesting considerations both with regard to
the role of quantum fields in the dynamics of cosmic evolution and in the search for a more fundamental description of the
gravitational interaction itself. In this view, a brief introduction to the quantization of fields in GR is presented. One of the most
intriguing aspects of GR is the apparent link with Thermodynamics, which can be traced back to the pioneering work of Hawking in
the context of black holes. Since then, a great deal of points in common between the two theories have been revealed. Along this
line, and with the aid of semi-classical and quantum methods, we will show how thermodynamic quantities (such as entropy,
temperature and Laws of Thermodynamics) arise in some simple gravitational models.
Seminario
Lunedì 7 maggio 2012
Aula 8, ore 15-16
Via dei Musei 41 - Brescia