Exploring the limits of semiclassical gravity and what lies beyond

• Grant number: 23/04827-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Effective date (Start): August 16, 2023
• Effective date (End): August 09, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Elementary Particle Physics and Fields
• Principal Investigator: Daniel Augusto Turolla Vanzela
• Grantee: Daniel Augusto Turolla Vanzela
• Host Investigator: Caslav Brukner
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física de São Carlos (IFSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria

Abstract

General Relativity stands as the last classical theory not yet supplanted by a quantum description of a (known) fundamental interaction: gravity. In the complete absence of experimental landmarks, the quest for a quantum theory which fully encompasses gravity has attracted the attention of theoreticians for almost a century now, with only few advances. In this arid search for a quantum theory of gravity, the most important and solid results were obtained in the scope of semiclassical gravity. The purpose of this project is to systematically explore the limitations of semiclassical gravity, trying to peek at what lies beyond its scope, by considering low-energy situations where gravity-mediated entanglement might arise---which would reveal an inherently quantum feature of this interaction. Investigating the consequences of this feature to other aspects of gravity may lead to a better understanding of the full quantum regime of this interaction. (AU)