Hamburg 2016 – scientific programme

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GR: Fachverband Gravitation und Relativitätstheorie

GR 4: Mathematical Aspects of Classical and Quantum Gravity (with MP)

GR 4.2: Invited Talk

Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 09:00–09:30, VMP6 HS A

Towards Quantum Gravity via Quantum Field Theory: Problems and perspectives — •Klaus Fredenhagen — II. Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Universität Hamburg

General Relativity is a classical field theory; the standard methods for constructing a corresponding quantum field theory, however, meet severe difficulties, in particular perturbative non-renormalizability and the problem of background independence.

Nevertheless, modern approaches to quantum field theory have significantly lowered these obstacles. On the side of non-renormalizability, this is the concept of effective theories, together with indications for better non-perturbative features of the renormalization group flow. On the side of background independence the main progress comes from an improved understanding of quantum field theories on generic curved spacetimes. Combining these informations, a promising approach to quantum gravity is an expansion around a classical solution which then is a quantum field theory on a given background, augmented by an identity which expresses independence against infinitesimal shifts of the background.

The arising theory is expected to describe small corrections to classical general relativity. Inflationary cosmology is expected to arise as a lowest order approximation.