The dynamics of strongly interacting quantum field theories and black holes

据我们所知，宇宙中的所有物质都是由基本粒子组成的。这些粒子遵循两套原理。第一个是相对性原理--没有什么能比光速更快。第二个是量子力学的原理，它说任何事件的结果都无法确定地预测。相反，有各种可能的结果，每一种都有自己的概率。量子场论是将这些原理以一致的方式联合收割机结合起来的数学理论。自然界的基本粒子非常精确地遵循量子场论的预测，正如最近在大型强子对撞机上的质子碰撞中所验证的那样。然而，量子场论可能非常复杂，比如每个粒子的行为对其邻居都有很大影响的情况。这些被称为强相互作用量子场论，我们不理解它们的许多性质，特别是当存在大量粒子时。这是因为，在数学上，要跟踪每一个微观事件的所有可能结果的概率是非常困难的，而在遵循量子力学原理的理论中，人们必须这样做。虽然你可能认为这些错综复杂的概率微观过程会导致复杂的混乱，但我们最近开始了解，非常有组织的现象实际上可以在这些系统中出现。我的研究项目的目的是发展这种理解，并利用它来解释强相互作用量子场论所描述的两类物理系统的性质。第一类系统是由强相互作用粒子组成的物质的奇异量子态。尽管在微观水平上，这些物质状态的例子之间存在巨大差异，但在温度或电荷的变化如何在宏观距离上通过这些系统传播方面，我们观察到了一个显着的相似性。我的研究将通过将强相互作用量子场论的宏观性质与微观距离上发生的混沌过程直接联系起来，来研究为什么会出现这种情况。第二类系统是黑洞。令人惊讶的是，强相互作用量子场论的复杂动力学可以产生引力现象，以及黑洞等引力物体。这就是所谓的“全息二重性”。通过更好地理解这到底是如何发生的，以及它发生的环境，我的研究将有助于更好地理解黑洞的性质和微观结构。

To the best of our knowledge, all matter in the universe is comprised of fundamental particles. These particles obey two sets of principles. The first is the principle of relativity - that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. The second is the principles of quantum mechanics, which say that the outcome of any event can never be predicted with certainty. Instead, there are a variety of possible outcomes, each with its own probability. Quantum field theories are mathematical theories that combine these principles in a consistent way. The fundamental particles of nature obey the predictions of quantum field theory to great precision, as has been tested most recently in the collisions of protons at the Large Hadron Collider.However, quantum field theories can be fiendishly complex, like in situations where the behaviour of each particle has a large effect on its neighbours. These are called strongly interacting quantum field theories, and we do not understand many of their properties, particularly when there are a large number of particles present. This is because it is mathematically very difficult to keep track of the probabilities of all of the possible outcomes of every microscopic event, as one must do in a theory that obeys the principles of quantum mechanics.While you might think that these intricate and probabilistic microscopic processes would lead to a complicated mess, we have recently begun to understand that very organised phenomena can actually emerge in these systems. The aim of my research project is to develop this understanding and exploit it to explain the properties of two kinds of physical systems that are described by strongly interacting quantum field theories.The first kind of systems are the exotic quantum states of matter made up of strongly interacting particles. Despite the vast differences between examples of these kinds of states of matter at the microscopic level, a remarkable similarity is observed in how variations in temperature, or electric charge, spread through these systems over macroscopic distances. My research will examine why this is the case, by directly relating the macroscopic properties of strongly interacting quantum field theories to the chaotic processes that occur over microscopic distances. The second kind of systems are black holes. Amazingly, the complicated dynamics of strongly interacting quantum field theories can produce the phenomenon of gravity, as well as gravitational objects such as black holes. This is called 'holographic duality'. By better understanding how exactly this happens, and the circumstances under which it occurs, my research will help to give a much better understanding of the properties and the microscopic structure of black holes.