Towards the Microscopic Structure of Space-Time

这项研究的目标是在极短的时间间隔内发现和理解空间和时间的本质方面取得进展。激发这项研究的基本假设是，物理过程的空间和时间间隔是离散的，而不是无限可分的。研究课题包括：（i）继续探索运动的完全相对性可能违反的可观察后果，称为“洛伦兹违反”（LV），（ii）研究短距离LV对黑洞熵和霍金辐射的影响，（iii）调查LV对量子引力中时间作用的深层问题的影响，以及（iv）离散动力学时空的物理模型的制定。还将进行研究，探讨引力场方程的热力学解释，并研究黑洞的量子蒸发。时间和空间的本质是一个古老的问题，它构成了科学的基本框架。随着科学知识的发展，我们对这个问题的认识也在不断加深。许多人认为，要成功地解决当今最基本的科学问题，需要对时间和空间的本质有新的见解。为这一洞察力做出贡献是本研究的目标。这项研究将涉及对年轻的博士前和博士后科学家的培训，研究结果将在科学出版物和报告中公布。它还将为从研究生到本科生的大学教学提供信息，并将以讲座和书面形式与公众分享。

The goal of this research is to make progress towards uncovering and understanding the nature of space and time at extremely short intervals. The underlying hypothesis motivating most of this research is that, rather than being infinitely divisible, space and time intervals of physical rocesses are discrete. The research topics include (i) a continued search for observable consequences of the possible violation of the complete relativity of motion, called "Lorentz violation" (LV), (ii) study of the impact of short distance LV on black hole entropy and Hawking radiation, (iii) investigation of the implications of LV for the deep problem of the role of time in quantum gravity, and (iv) formulation of physical models of discrete dynamical spacetime. Research probing a thermodynamic interpretation of the gravitational field equation, and a study of the quantum evaporation of black holes will also be undertaken. The nature of time and space is an age old question that underlies the basic framework of science. The development of scientific knowledge has gone hand in hand with deepening our understanding of this question. Many believe that to successfully address the most fundamental scientific questions of today will require new insights into the nature of time and space. Contributing to that insight is the goal of this research. The research will involve the training of young pre-doctoral and postdoctoral scientists, and the results will be communicated in scientific publications and presentations. It will also inform university instruction from graduate to undergraduate levels, and will be shared with the general public in lectures and in written form.