Speaker: Prof. Brian Swingle (Brandeis University)
Black Holes as Extreme Quantum Information Processors
It is often suggested that our theory of spacetime and gravity is in tension with quantum theory, for example, that quantum information might be lost in blackholes. However, recent developments suggest that spacetime and gravity could actually emerge from complex patterns of quantum information. I will review these developments with a focus on the physics of black holes in certain well controlled models of quantum gravity. Along the way, I will highlight many connections to the physics of chaotic quantum many-body systems. To conclude, I will discuss how these ideas might be generalized to describe quantum gravity in our own expanding universe.