Towards a better understanding of quantum gravity

Unifying quantum mechanics with Einstein’s theory of general relativity – that is, with gravity – is one of the main quests in current theoretical physics. Holography is a surprising property of some theories of quantum gravity in a specific class of spaces known as ‘negatively curved spaces’: these theories can be equivalently described by an ordinary quantum mechanical system – without gravity – on the boundary of spacetime.

It is usually difficult to test or even derive such a dual description, because most quantities that are computable in gravity are inaccessible in quantum mechanics and vice versa. Eberhardt’s paper proposes a new holographic duality in which both sides are under better technical control, and which can be verified directly to a much greater extent than in other instances. On the gravity side, one has a particular string theory solution which admits an exact description using so-called worldsheet methods. On the quantum mechanics side, one has a simple deformation of a theory known as symmetric orbifold.

The paper does not just describe an isolated interesting idea; it is part of a series of recent developments where holography is derived directly, rather than conjectured, thus leading to a more fundamental understanding of this deep and mysterious property of quantum gravity.

Journal of Physics A

The Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical is a major journal of theoretical physics reporting research on the mathematical structures that describe fundamental processes of the physical world and on the analytical, computational and numerical methods for exploring these structures. The journal is published by IOP publishing. All original research articles published in the journal during 2023 and 2024 were considered for a prize. Besides the recognition, Eberhardt will receive £250 in prize money for his paper.

Publication

A perturbative CFT dual for pure NS–NS AdS₃ strings, Lorenz Eberhardt, J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 55 (2022) 064001.