Backreaction Effects in Classical and Semiclassical Gravity

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***9800971AndersonProfessor Paul Anderson will carry out several projects relating to backreaction effects in semiclassical gravity. Three projects relate to the study of quantum effects in black hole spacetimes. They include a search for solutions to the semiclassical backreaction equations that could correspond to black hole remnants, an investigation of the effects which quantized fields have on the interior of a black hole, and a study of how quantum effects influence critical phenomena that have been found in gravitational collapse. Another project involves the study of the effects of particle production on the expansion of the universe.The research on black holes will address several important issues relating to the study of black holes. The search for solutions to the semiclassical backreaction equations that could correspond to black hole remnants will address questions regarding the end point of the black hole evaporation process and what happens to the information about how a black hole formed. The study of quantum effects inside of black holes will address the questions of whether quantum effects can remove the singularity at the center of a black hole, dissipate anisotropy in the interior of a black hole, or alter the causal structure inside of a charged black hole. Critical phenomena have been found in classical gravitational collapse. It is expected that the investigation of critical phenomena during gravitational collapse will show that quantum effects have a significant influence on this process. The flatness problem is related to the question of why the universe is expanding the way it is today. Unless it is spatially flat, a generic solution of Einstein's equations would predict that today the universe would be either contracting or expanding in a very different manner than it is. Previous work has shown that if engough particle production occurs in the early universe then this problem can be solved in a natural way. Various sources of particle production in the early universe will be examined to see if enough particle production could have taken place to solve the flatness problem. Particle production in oscillating models of the universe will also be studied. It is expected that in these models particle production can definitely be used to solve the flatness problem.***