The Importance of Euclidean Quantum Gravity

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Hawking: In quantum field theory, you're integrating over the space of all possible metrics. And now these metrics are Euclidean metrics rather than spacetime metrics. Half of it is this rotation from real time to imaginary time. The other half is in the context of quantum cosmology dramatically cutting down on the number of degrees of freedom that you're considering by just assuming that the universe is homogeneous and isotropic - called mini super space models.

Welcome to the August 2023 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the questions themselves are good -- and sometimes group them together if they are about a similar topic. Enjoy!

Blog post with questions and transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/08/07/ama-august-2023/

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