Emergence in Cosmology Workshop -- August 13

[Christopher Smeenk]

Of possible interest:

Emergence in Cosmology Workshop

August 13, 2021, 9:00am-3:00pm EST (via Zoom)

The early universe is described extremely well by linear perturbations evolving in a simple expanding universe model, described by classical general relativity.  An approximately scale invariant spectrum of nearly Gaussian, adiabatic curvature fluctuations accounts for observed anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background as well as baryon acoustic oscillations.  But how does this familiar classical picture emerge from the preceding quantum-gravity phase, when classical general relativity and its account of spacetime is expected to break down?  This workshop will, first, consider recent proposals to address this question based on matrix theory, a proposed non-perturbative definition of string theory.  We will also consider more general questions regarding what quantum gravity should be expected to achieve, such as resolving the initial singularity, and how the proposed sense of emergence compares to other cases.