Distinguished Lecture Series

Professor Abhay Ashtekar

Penn State University

will give a series of lectures on

Big Bang, Black Holes and the Quantum: Physics Beyond General Relativity

Topic: Astrophysics

General relativity is both sublimely beautiful and incredibly successful. But it is incomplete because it ignores quantum physics. It predicts that space-time comes to an end and physics stops at singularities. Recent developments in non-perturbative quantum gravity have shown that these predictions are incorrect. Specifically, quantum geometry effects can resolve singularities, thereby opening new vistas. Quantum space-times can be vastly larger than what Einstein had us believe. The goal of this series of talks is to provide, through examples, an introduction to these developments and their conceptual and physical ramifications.