Bethe lecturer to tackle black holes, quantum theory

Juan Maldacena
Maldacena

Einstein transformed our understanding of the universe when he taught that space and time should be combined into a dynamical entity called “spacetime,” which is deformed (curved) by the presence of matter. Black holes are objects where this deformation is drastic, leading to a region from which nothing can escape.

Cornell's fall 2014 Hans Bethe lecturer, Juan Maldacena, is a leading theorist of quantum gravity, string theory and quantum field theory, and his public lecture, “Black Holes and the Structure of Spacetime,” will explore the deep connection between black holes and quantum field theories. The talk will be held Wednesday, Sept. 24, at 7:30 p.m. in Schwartz Auditorium, Rockefeller Hall.

“Quantum mechanics implies that black holes emit thermal radiation, or Hawking radiation,” says Maldacena, a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. “The theoretical study of quantum aspects of black holes has led to interesting connections between spacetime and more ordinary quantum systems.”

Maldacena studied physics at Instituto Balseiro at the Universidad de Cuyo in Bariloche, Argentina, and received his M.A. in 1993 and his Ph.D. in 1996, both from Princeton University. He was formerly a professor of physics at Harvard University.

In 1999 Maldacena was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship; his other honors include the Pius XI Medal, the ICTP Dirac Medal and the 2012 Milner Foundation Fundamental Physics Prize. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the National Academy of Sciences.

As part of the Hans Bethe Lecture series, Maldacena will also present the physics colloquium, “Quantum Mechanics and the Geometry of Spacetime,” Sept. 22 at 4 p.m. in Schwartz Auditorium; and a high energy theory seminar, “Causality Constraints on Graviton Three Point Functions,” Sept. 23 at 4 p.m. in 401 Physical Science Building.

The Hans Bethe Lectures, established by the Department of Physics and the College of Arts and Sciences, honor Bethe, a Cornell professor of physics from 1936 until his death in 2005. Bethe won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1967 for his description of the nuclear processes that power the sun.

Linda B. Glaser is a staff writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.

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