What does high-energy scattering teach us about quantum gravity?

by Steve Giddings (CERN)

Friday 27 Nov 2009, 14:15 → 15:15 Europe/Zurich

Univ. de Geneve, Auditoire Stueckelberg, 24 quai E. Ansermet, CH-1211 Genève 4

Whether through real or gedanken experiments, we expect high-energy scattering to probe important aspects of quantum gravity. In particular, such experiments ultimately run into a paradox that seemingly drives at the heart of the problem of reconciling quantum mechanics and gravity: the black hole information problem. I will summarize some aspects of what we know (within and without string theory) and what might be missing. Basic features of gravity give important clues about novel behavior compared to conventional local field theory. The missing elements could be important keys to unlock the mysteries of quantum gravity.