Juan Maldacena, famous physicist known for his work on black holes and AdS CFT, joins Brian Keating to discuss topics such as human traversable wormholes, the multiverse, black holes, wormholes in movies like Interstellar, an economic analog to the Higgs Mechanism, and the fascination with time travel. They also explore the construction of a humanly traversable wormhole, the connection between non-Gaussianities and primordial gravitational waves, and the possibility of finding non-gassy entities in large-scale structure.
Black holes the size of the Earth could be traversable without being killed by tidal forces near the singularity.
Recent developments propose the existence of traversable wormholes by exploiting the quantum entanglement of black holes.
Exploration of black holes, wormholes, and alternative cosmological models aims to understand the nature of space-time and quantum gravity, shedding light on fundamental questions.
Deep dives
Black Holes and Wormholes
Black holes have long been considered deadly due to the immense tidal forces near the singularity. However, in the case of a black hole the size of the Earth, it would be possible to fall into the event horizon without being killed by tidal forces. Similarly, wormholes, which connect two points in spacetime, could potentially be traversable if they have a large enough opening. These concepts have sparked interest in exploring black hole interiors and understanding the nature of quantum gravity and inflationary cosmology.
The Concept of Wormholes
Wormholes have been a topic of fascination due to their potential as portals for space and time travel. While wormholes are theoretically possible, they often require exotic matter with negative energy that is not yet understood. However, recent developments have proposed the existence of traversable wormholes by exploiting the quantum entanglement of black holes. These traversable wormholes offer intriguing possibilities for exploring black hole interiors and the mysteries of quantum teleportation.
Theoretical Perspectives and Challenges
Theoretical physicists are constantly seeking a deeper understanding of the universe, including the nature of space-time and quantum gravity. The exploration of black holes, wormholes, and alternative cosmological models like inflation and cyclic bouncing theories, all aim to shed light on these fundamental questions. While inflationary models have been highly successful in explaining various cosmological observations, there is ongoing interest in exploring alternative scenarios and understanding the limits of our current theories, such as the need for a theory that combines general relativity and quantum mechanics.
Theories of everything and their different approaches
Different theories of everything, such as those proposed by Stephen Wolfram, Garrett Leacy, and Eric Weinstein, offer different approaches and ideas. Some ideas are more developed than others, with concrete experimental predictions, while others lack such predictions. It remains uncertain whether Wolfram's ideas are consistent with principles of relativity and causality.
Non-gaussianities in cosmology and their significance
The study of non-gaussianities in cosmology provides insight into the primordial fluctuations of the early universe. These fluctuations, believed to be the result of quantum effects during inflation, exhibit deviations from Gaussian patterns. Understanding these deviations can shed light on the interactions and physics of the inflationary period. While non-gaussianities have been challenging to detect, their study offers lower limits and target predictions for experimentalists.
Juan Maldacena joined Professor Brian Keating for his first-ever podcast to discuss his fascinating work on black holes, AdS CFT, and 'human traversable wormholes and fundamental physics. We discussed the Multiverse, Black Holes, Wormholes, SETI, Life on Einstein Lane at the Institute for Advanced Study, wormholes in movies like Interstellar, and more.
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We also discussed an interesting economic analog to the Higgs Mechanism first elaborated by Dr. Pia Malaney and Dr. Eric Weinstein, explaining gauge theory and electromagnetism. See Juan's paper "The symmetry and simplicity of the laws of physics and the Higgs boson" here: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1410.6753.pdf . You will also enjoy his video lecture based on that paper here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQF7kkWjVWM
Juan Martín Maldacena (September 10, 1968 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a theoretical physicist and the Carl P. Feinberg Professor in the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study. He has made significant contributions to the foundations of string theory and quantum gravity. His most famous discovery is the AdS/CFT correspondence, a realization of the holographic principle in string theory.
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