Two quantum effects in the theory of gravitation
Name
61355312-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
6.44 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
795165ea2fcfadca911b19b03b1d9180
Author(s)
Robinson, Sean Patrick, 1977-
Advisor(s)
Frank Wilczek.
Alternative Title
2 quantum effects in the theory of gravitation
Date Issued
2005
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
We will discuss two methods by which the formalism of quantum field theory can be included in calculating the physical effects of gravitation. In the first of these, the consequences of treating general relativity as an effective quantum field theory will be examined. The primary result will be the calculation of the first-order quantum gravity corrections to the [beta] functions of arbitrary Yang-Mills theories. These corrections will effect the high-energy phenomenology of such theories, including the details of coupling constant unification. Following this, we will address the question of how to form effective quantum field theories in classical gravitational backgrounds. We follow the prescription that effective theories should provide a description of experimentally accessible degrees of freedom with all other degrees of freedom integrated out of the theory. We will show that this prescription appears to fail for a scalar field in a black hole background because of an anomaly generated in general covariance at the black hole horizon. This anomaly is repaired and the effective field theory is saved, however, by the inevitable presence of Hawking radiation in the quantum theory.
Description
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2005.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-108).
Subjects
Physics.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
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