GQFI-UGent-WST Seminar: Olga Papadoulaki "Holography from the Wheeler-DeWitt equation"
In a theory of quantum gravity, states can be represented as wavefunctionals that assign an amplitude to a given configuration of matter fields and the metric on a spatial slice. These wavefunctionals must obey a set of constraints as a consequence of the diffeomorphism invariance of the theory, the most important of which is known as the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. In this talk, Olga Papadoulaki (Perimeter Institute) presents how to study these constraints perturbatively by expanding them to leading nontrivial order in Newton’s constant about a background AdS spacetime. It will become clear that in perturbation theory, any wavefunctional that solves these constraints must have specific correlations between a component of the metric at infinity and energetic excitations of matter fields or transverse-traceless gravitons. These correlations disallow strictly localized excitations. Olga proves perturbatively that two states or two density matrices that coincide at the boundary for an infinitesimal interval of time must coincide everywhere in the bulk. This analysis establishes a perturbative version of holography for theories of gravity coupled to matter in AdS.
The Virtual Seminar Series “GQFI-Ghent University-Warsaw String Theory” (GQFI-UGent-WST) is a joint initiative between the strings/holography groups at the Albert Einstein Institute (AEI) in Potsdam, Ghent University and the University Warsaw. The calendar for upcoming GQFI-UGent-WST seminars can be found here: https://gqfi.aei.mpg.de/node/3.
This talk is primarily based on arXiv:2107.14802 [hep-th] (https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.14802).
This talk was recorded on November 9th, 2021 at the Albert Einstein Institute in Potsdam-Golm.