Résumé / Abstract Journal-club_GReCO

Séminaire / Seminar GReCO

« Superfluid picture for rotating space-times »

George Chapline

Although it has been generally believed that classical general relativity is always correct for macroscopic length scales, certain predictions of general relativity such as event horizons and closed time-like curves are inconsistent with ordinary quantum mechanics. It has been pointed out that these inconsistencies can be resolved if the vacuum state of space-time posses long-range off-diagonal quantum coherence. Remarkably it turns out that superfluid rigidity fails exactly where event horizons and closed time-like curves were predicted to occur. This circumstance leads to pictures for compact objects and cosmological space-time very different from the usual pictures. In particular, the interior of compact objects and cosmological space-time resemble rotating superfluids. The occurrence of quantum vortices in compact objects may be associated with relativistic jets, while in the cosmological case the vortices give rise to quantum turbulence that may explain the observed fluctuations in the CMB.
vendredi 15 octobre 2004 - 11:00
Salle des séminaires Évry Schatzman
Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
Pages web du séminaire / Seminar's webpage