Statistical Mechanics in General Relativity and Gravitational Physics

近年来， 非平衡统计力学与动力系统 相对论天体物理学理论和量子场论。 Kandelman教授将研究某些一般特征 许多这些应用程序的基础，并显示如何这样的 调查可以提供重要的新见解， 具体问题。 另一个需要考虑的领域是应用 从统计物理学和量子场论的观点， 早期宇宙 统计力学的一个主要领域， 被认为是"松弛"和稳定的经典 恒星的自引力系统 相关问题将在 解决包括：为什么星系看起来如此相似， 另一个和"如此放松"时，他们的名义弛豫时间是 比宇宙的年龄大得多吗 这能明显 松弛可以从第一原理导出，作为以下结果： 自引力点系统的"混合"性质 群众？ 可能是"平均场波动"或其他集体 效应在短时间尺度上引起有效弛豫 与"碰撞"弛豫时间相比？ 在何种意义上 所有的自引力系统都是不稳定的， 一般的不稳定性导致了大量黑色的形成 星系中心的黑洞 场论中需要解决的有关问题 包括：在何种程度上，各种场论过程 在早期宇宙中，可以通过简单的随机 方程式？ "引力熵"是什么意思？ 是 在半经典中， 量子引力作为“隧道”事件，其特征在于， 瞬子？ 例如，使精确的想法， 作为量子涨落的宇宙“隧道进入存在”？ 什么 这是否意味着大宇宙的“初始条件” 砰，这能“解释”观察到的“时间之箭”吗？

Recent years have witnessed increasing applications of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and dynamical systems theory in relativistic astrophysics and quantum field theory. Professor Kandrup will investigate certain general features underlying many of these applications and show how such investigations can provide significant new insights into specific problems. The other area to be considered entails an application of ideas from statistical physics and quantum field theory in the early Universe. One principal area in statistical mechanics to be considered is the "relaxation" and stability of classical self-gravitating systems of stars. Relevant questions to be addressed include: Why do galaxies look so similar one to another and "so relaxed" when their nominal relaxation time is much greater than the age of the Universe? Can this apparent relaxation be derived from first principles as a consequence of the "mixing" properties of a system of self-gravitating point masses? Could "mean field fluctuations" or other collective effects induce an effective relaxation on a time scale short compared with the "collisional" relaxation time? In what sense are all self-gravitating systems unstable, and could this generic instability lead to the formation of a massive black hole at the center of a galaxy? Relevant questions to be addressed in field theory include: To what extent can various field theoretic processes in the early Universe be modeled via simple stochastic equations? What does one mean by "gravitational entropy"? Is it possible to envision changes in topology in semiclassical quantum gravity as "tunneling" events, characterized as instantons? Could one, e.g., make precise the idea that the Universe "tunneled into Being" as a quantum fluctuation? What would this imply about the "initial conditions" at the Big Bang, and could this "explain" the observed "arrow of time"?