RUI: Weaving Space with Quantum Entanglement, and Black Holes in Stochastic Matrix Theory

该奖项资助了Harvey Mudd学院Vatche Sahakian教授的研究活动。现代物理学中最重要的矛盾之一在于，我们通过爱因斯坦的广义相对论对引力的理解，与通过量子力学对微观世界的最先进描述之间存在着交集。作为他研究的一部分，萨哈基安教授将通过探索新的想法来研究这种紧张关系，这些新想法表明，对空间、时间和引力的感知可以被视为从量子力学的更基本原理中涌现出来的。因此，这项研究通过在基础层面上促进科学的进步来促进国家利益：通过现代物理学两大支柱之间的不一致来探索我们对物理定律的理解。预计该项目还将产生更广泛的重大影响。本科生将参与研究，因此该项目为初级物理学家开始理论物理研究提供了重要的培训。萨哈基安教授也会就这项研究进行公开演讲，并将继续开发新的课程课程来支持理论物理的研究。在技术方面，萨哈基安教授将探讨弦理论和量子引力的几个关键思想：解决量子力学和广义相对论之间冲突的可能性，可能在于重新思考时空的本质，将其视为量子纠缠产生的一种新兴现象，以及发展量子引力的新计算技术，以探索黑洞视界的特征。该项目的研究目标是更好地理解时空结构可以通过纠缠熵产生的力学，作为弦理论中潜在微观动力学的新兴集体现象；开发新的计算数值技术，允许在新的制度下探索量子引力；并使用新开发的非摄动技术更好地理解黑洞视界的本质。本项目主要研究两个领域的基本问题：通过量子信息理论的涌现时空，以及量子引力中的随机量子化。萨哈基安教授还将开设一门关于理论物理学现代主题的本科课程，为学生进入研究生院提供坚实的基础，并编写一本关于经典场论的本科教科书。他还将参与高性能物理数值计算的课程开发，包括接触机器学习和深度神经网络。最后，将举办一系列公开讲座，为更广泛的社区带来现代物理主题的通俗介绍。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award funds the research activities of Professor Vatche Sahakian at Harvey Mudd College. One of the most significant tensions in modern physics lies at the junction between our understanding of the gravitational force through Einstein's theory of General Relativity, and the state-of-the-art description of the microscopic world through Quantum Mechanics. As part of his research, Professor Sahakian will investigate this tension by exploring new ideas that suggest that the perception of space, time, and gravity can be viewed as emergent from more fundamental principles in Quantum Mechanics. As a result, this research advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science at a foundational level: exploration of our understanding of the physical laws through inconsistencies between two pillars of modern physics. This project is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts. Undergraduate students will be involved in the research, and thus the project provides critical training for junior physicists beginning research in theoretical physics. Professor Sahakian will also give public lectures on this research and he will continue to develop new course curricula supporting research in theoretical physics. More technically, Professor Sahakian will explore several key ideas in string theory and quantum gravity: the possibility that resolution of the clash between quantum mechanics and general relativity might lie in a rethinking of the nature of spacetime as an emergent phenomenon arising from quantum entanglement, and the development of new computational techniques in quantum gravity to explore the character of the black hole horizon. The research goals of this project are to achieve a better understanding of the mechanics through which the fabric of spacetime can arise through entanglement entropy, as an emergent collective phenomenon of underlying microscopic dynamics in string theory; to develop new computational numerical techniques that allow for exploration of quantum gravity in new regimes; and to better understand the nature of the black hole horizon using newly developed non-perturbative techniques. This project addresses fundamental questions in two general areas: emergent spacetime through quantum information theory, and stochastic quantization in quantum gravity. Professor Sahakian will also develop an undergraduate course on modern topics in theoretical physics, providing students with solid foundations for graduate school, and prepare an undergraduate textbook on classical field theory. He will also engage in course development on high performance numerical computation in physics including exposure to machine learning and deep neural networks. Finally, a public lecture series will be implemented, bringing accessible presentations of modern physics topics to the wider community.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.