Conversations on Quantum Gravity

Leading theorists share their important insights into the ongoing quest of theoretical physics to find a quantum theory of gravity.

Jácome (Jay) Armas (Edited by)

9781107168879, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 August 2021

716 pages
25.1 x 17.5 x 3.6 cm, 1.5 kg

'As the title states, it consists of experts discussing their research, but at a level which should be accessible to all physicists who have a basic idea as to why a theory of quantum gravity is worth looking for. I recommend it highly to those and to future historians who want to know what those people were really thinking.' Phillip Helbig, The Observatory

The holy grail of theoretical physics is to find the theory of everything that combines all the forces of nature, including gravity. This book addresses the question: how far are we from such discovery? Over the last few decades, multiple roads to finding a quantum theory of gravity have been proposed but no obvious description of nature has emerged in this domain. What is to be made of this situation? This volume probes the state-of-the art in this daunting quest of theoretical physics by collecting critical interviews with nearly forty leading theorists in this field. These broad-ranging conversations give important insights and candid opinions on the various approaches to quantum gravity, including string theory, loop quantum gravity, causal set theory and asymptotic safety. This unique, readable overview provides a gateway into cutting edge research for students and others who wish to engage with the open problem of quantum gravity.

Introduction, The Interviews: 1. Jan Ambjørn
2. Nima Arkani-Hamed
3. Abhay Ashtekar
4. Jan de Boer
5. Steven Carlip
6. Alain Connes
7. Robbert Dijkgraaf
8. Bianca Dittrich
9. Fay Dowker
10. Laurent Freidel
11. Steven Giddings
12. Rajesh Gopakumar
13. David J. Gross
14. Gerard 't Hooft
15. Petr Horava
16. Renate Loll
17. Juan Maldacena
18. Shiraz Minwalla
19. Hermann Nicolai
20. Roger Penrose
21. Joseph Polchinski
22. Alexander Polyakov
23. Martin Reuter
24. Carlo Rovelli
25. Nathan Seiberg
26. Ashoke Sen
27. Eva Silverstein
28. Lee Smolin
29. Rafael Sorkin
30. Andrew Strominger
31. Leonard Susskind
32. Thomas Thiemann
33. Cumrun Vafa
34. Erik Verlinde
35. Steven Weinberg
36. Frank Wilczek
37. Edward Witten
Index.

Subject Areas: Relativity physics [PHR], Quantum physics [quantum mechanics & quantum field theory PHQ], Gravity [PHDV], Popular science [PDZ], History of science [PDX], Philosophy of science [PDA], Biography: science, technology & medicine [BGT]