Research on Quantum Fluctuation Phenomena and Gravitation

这个项目将涉及量子场论的各个方面的理论研究，以及它与引力理论和宇宙学的关系。这项研究将特别关注与量子涨落有关的问题，无论是在引力系统中，还是在类似于重力的其他环境中(如边界效应)。其中一项研究将研究平坦时空中电磁场的真空涨落。将寻求可通过实验检验的新的物理效应。一个密切相关的研究领域将研究引力场本身波动的影响。当量子物质场作为引力场的源时，源的能量密度和压强往往会有很大的波动，这将转化为引力场的大波动。这些波动的影响将被调查。由于引力场本身的量子性质，也存在波动。这些将在一个模型的背景下进行研究，在该模型中，引力子的背景浴会导致光锥被轻微涂抹掉。这种涂抹可能会对其他量子场产生影响，这将导致对引力的量子本质的洞察，甚至可能产生可观察到的效应。在后一种情况下，人们还将通过遗迹引力子的背景获得关于宇宙起源和演化的重要信息。

This project will involve theoretical research on various aspects of quantum field theory and its relationship to gravitational theory and cosmology. The research will especially focus upon issues relating to quantum fluctuations, either in gravitational systems or in other contexts (such as boundary effects) which are analogous to gravity. One line of investigation will study the vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field in flat spacetime. New physical effects which may be testable by experiment will be sought. A closely related line of investigation will study the effects of fluctuations of the gravitational field itself. When quantum matter fields act as the source of the gravitational field, there will often be large fluctuations in the energy density and pressure of the source which will translate into large fluctuations in the gravitational field. The effects of these fluctuations will be investigated. There are also fluctuations due to the quantum nature of the gravitational field itself. These will be studied in the context of a model where a background bath of gravitons causes the lightcone to be slightly smeared out. This smearing may produce effects upon other quantum fields which will lead to insights about the quantum nature of gravity and possibly even observable effects. In the latter case, one would also gain important information about the origin and evolution of the universe through the background of relic gravitons.