Juan maldacena1 lyman laboratory of physics, harvard university, cambridge, ma 028, usa abstract we show that the large n limit of certain conformal. Maldacena has received several awards, including the edward a. He has authored seven booksincluding euclids window. Juan maldacena some thoughts on the wave function of the. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the. This idea got my adrenaline pumping, stirring a vigorous dialogue. The dualities relate theories that work where quantum e. As a young professor at harvard university in 1997, juan maldacena reshaped fundamental physics with the discovery that, as he put it, you can create a universe in a bottle.
An interview with juan maldacena video the holographic principle, as explained by the man who has done more than anyone else to understand it. Reaching out beyond our own planet, juan maldacena questions whether we actually live in a threedimensional world and whether gravity truly exists. The illusion of gravity by scientific american magazine. In 1997, theoretical physicist juan maldacena proposed that an. Member of the american academy of arts and sciences, elected 2007. Patrick had initially assumed that the subsystem of the black hole ejected in the hawking radiation had been randomly chosen, but we eventually decided based on a simple picture of the quantum computation performed by the black hole that it should take a time scaling like m log. But measured by those standards, nahs influence is negligible. Packard fellowship in science and engineering, 1998. Juan maldacena discusses black holes, wormholes, and the secrets pf quantum space time. Jul 01, 2009 juan maldacena, professor at the institute for advanced study in princeton, has played a vital role in the development of this idea, which is known as the holographic principle. There is an introduction by andrew gawrelewski, mysterious universe. Interview with juan maldacena ep department newsletter.
In 1997, argentine american theorist juan maldacena considered a volume of space in which gravity was at work. Nov 15, 2011 maldacenas discovery was the first concrete realization of the holographic principle, and it also made work easier for theorists, who now had two approaches available for every tricky math. This book will be a mustread for anyone interested in either subjects history or present for many. Scientific american is the essential guide to the most aweinspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the. Scientific american july 2017 scientific american download. Juan maldacena what do black holes and dark matter reveal. The national academy of sciences is a private, nonprofit, selfperpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. We consider black holes in string theory which is a quantum theory of gravity. Sir roger penrose, a hybrid mathematiciancosmologist, is one of the most accomplished scientific thinkers of the past fifty years.
It meant that wormholes, hypothetical connections between farapart black holes also known as einsteinrosen bridges er, are mathematically equivalent to entangled particles, sometimes called einsteinpodolskyrosen pairs epr. He is critical of string theory due to the reliance of the string theory vacuum problem on the anthropic principle, and objects to the dominance which string theory has over the search for a theory of everything. Scientific american, to be released november 3, 2015. Wayt gibbs and christine soares when the levees collapsed in new orleans, the faith of americans in their governments abil ity to protect them against natural disasters crumbled as well. The second thing is that, in fact, the big progress of string theory since 1997 with juan maldacena s conjecture, adscft. The national academies advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine. The universe really is a hologram, according to new simulations. Juan maldacena, pondering quantum gravity by the pond. Maldacena stunned the physics world again in 20 with a cryptic message first delivered in an email to fellow physics giant leonard susskind.
Juan maldacena really is someone important, in fact he is probably the most influential physicist currently active, and furthermore he does in fact work on info physics. P h y s i c s 56 theillusionofgravity by juan maldacena the force of gravity and one of the dimensions of space might be generated out of the peculiar interaction of particles and. Plus caught up with him on his recent visit to cambridge. This thesis is devoted to trying to find a microscopic quantum description of black holes. As for black holes, leonard susskind of stanford university and juan maldacena of the institute for advanced study in princeton, n. In a series of brilliantly imaginative insights, he has enriched our understanding of gravity, spacetime and black holes. In this compelling interview with graham, penrose describes some of the key events of his career how he became interested in the cosmos and the modern theory of gravity, how he first met the brilliant graduate student stephen hawking, and how their. So it would have been good if mr musser could have been steered in that direction. Maybe the wormhole would give the possibility of a teenage clark kent to live among us. Scientific american is the essential guide to the most aweinspiring. Illustration by jillian ditner, in black holes and wormholes and the secrets of quantum spacetime, by juan maldacena, scientific american, november 2016.
Professor juan maldacena s talk at strings 2002 held at the cavendish laboratory, university of cambridge, july1520, 2002. String theory may create far fewer universes than thought space. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Jul 30, 2018 juan maldacena, a theorist at the institute for advanced study, says he also still supports the idea of string theory universes with stable dark energy. In the 1990s maldacena came up with the very first model of a universe which realises the holographic principle. Jan 02, 2014 the traditional method of reconciling these two models has come from the 1997 work of theoretical physicist juan maldacena, whose ideas built upon string theory. The argentinianamerican theorist found a mathematical correspondence between a certain bendy. The best american science and nature writing 2006 the best. The multiverse in cosmology science meets religion. The holographic principle is arguably the most tangible and tantalizing clue to a quantum theory of gravity, but for years physicists didnt know what to make of it. Juan maldacena photographed by wim klerkz in his office at the institute for advanced studies. Dennis overbye surveys the continuing scientific mystery of time travel, and robert kunzig describes new xray images of the heavens, including black holes, exploding stars, colliding galaxies, and. American theoretical physicist and professor at columbia universty.
Maldacena submitted on 31 jul 1996, last revised 20 aug 1996 this version, v2 abstract. Juan maldacena what makes the universe fascinating. The basic reason is the extreme flexibility of the proposal. Juan maldacena, a theorist at the institute for advanced study, says he also still supports the idea of string theory universes with stable dark energy. Juan maldacena einstein index 12,998 juan maldacena, circa 2004. Scientific american is the essential guide to the most aweinspiring advances in science and technology. Wonders of the cosmos the editors of scientific american offer a challenging e book. The best american science and nature writing 2006 the. Juan maldacena is a professor in the school of natural sciences. Front matter the mathematical sciences in 2025 the. And i understand why alan guth is famous open astrophys any day. Last summer at a banquet for some of the worlds leading theoreticians at santa barbara, california, a chorus energetically took up the tune of the macarena with maldacena. Mar 19, 2014 professor juan maldacena s talk at strings 2002 held at the cavendish laboratory, university of cambridge, july1520, 2002.
Apr 04, 2016 there is so much in the universe that is astonishing, from the smallest particles to the largest galaxies. Maldacena, juan, scientific american, entangled black holes the obscure quantum phenomenon offers tantalizing clues to the nature of spacetime, pages 2631 vol. This is one of the most well respected theories of everything stephen hawking is a fan and it posits that onedimensional vibrating objects known as strings are the. Juan maldacena has been described as the first great theoretician of the twentyfirst century. Juan maldacena juan maldacena has been described as the first great theoretician of the twentyfirst century. String theory may create far fewer universes than thought. Feinberg professor in the school of natural sciences at the institute for advanced study.
Maldacena s discovery was the first concrete realization of the holographic principle, and it also made work easier for theorists, who now had two approaches available for every tricky math. Twin photons from heating cesium atoms with lasers, each traveled in opposite. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. The argentinian american theorist found a mathematical correspondence between a certain bendy.
The traditional method of reconciling these two models has come from the 1997 work of theoretical physicist juan maldacena, whose ideas built upon string theory. T heoretical physicists rarely achieve the status of rock stars, but argentinas juan maldacena, 30, may be an exception. Sloan foundation fellowship, a macarthur fellowship, the dannie. Tachyon condensation for open strings is discussed in the third lecture by ashoke sen while eva silverstein provides a useful summary of the various attempts to produce fourdimensional physics out of string. Feinberg professor in the school of natural sciences, first came to the institute as a member in 1999 and joined the institute faculty in 2002. Apr 03, 2017 posts about juan maldacena written by preskill. Holograms, black holes, and the nature of the universe nova. He has authored seven books including euclids window. The illusion of gravity scientific american, november 2005 you can also visit juan maldacena s home page at the institute of advanced studies. Juan maldacena, a theorist at the institute for advanced study, says he also still. Bouchet award of the american physical society, the xanthopoulos international award for research in gravitational physics, the sackler prize in physics, the unesco husein prize for young scientists, an alfred p.
American theoretical physicist, professor at the university of waterloo, and researcher at the perimeter institute for physics. He is the recipient of the 2011 american institute of physics science writing award and the 2010 american astronomical societys jonathan eberhart planetary sciences journalism award. As for black holes, leonard susskind of stanford university and juan maldacena of the institute for. Cabot associate professor 199899, visiting associate professor 1997.
Good scientists solve problems, but great scientists know. In a august 2011 feature article in scientific american, ellis addresses several multiverse proposals, and then concludes all in all, the case for the multiverse is inconclusive. May 24, 2018 as for black holes, leonard susskind of stanford university and juan maldacena of the institute for advanced study in princeton, n. He continues to study a relationship he has proposed between quantum gravity and quantum field theories in an effort to further understand the deep connection between black holes and quantum field theories as well as connections. Juan maldacena, professor at the institute for advanced study in princeton, has played a vital role in the development of this idea, which is known as the holographic principle. Wonders of the cosmos the editors of scientific american offer a challenging e book wonders of the cosmos 2018. More than ten thousand scientific papers about maldacena s adscftcorrespondence have been published to date. The illusion of gravity scientific american, november 2005 what is the right number of dimensions 10 or 11. In 2004 he started a blog, not even wrong to voice these objections, and in 2006 published a popular. Jul 12, 2005 juan maldacena s second lecture is a short introduction to the adscft correspondence with a short discussion on its plane wave limit. Holograms, black holes, and the nature of the universe. Harvard university 19972001 professor 19992001, thomas d. Institute for advanced study school of natural sciences. He has made significant contributions to the foundations of string theory and quantum gravity.
Scientific american is the essential guide to the most aweinspiring advances. In 1997 the argentinean physicist juan maldacena produced a mathematically rigorous model of a hypothetical 5dimensional universe which conforms to certain principles of the holographic metaphor. Oct 19, 2015 i mean, i understand why juan maldacena is famous. He is the recipient of the 2011 american institute of physics science writing award and the 2010 american astronomical societys jonathan eberhart. Jun 23, 2017 maldacena stunned the physics world again in 20 with a cryptic message first delivered in an email to fellow physics giant leonard susskind. Oct 14, 2015 44 scientific american november 2005 credit 2005 scientific american, inc. Hear the wonder and awe from the scientists who discover the secrets of the universe. For a semipopular article, see juan maldacena, the illusion of gravity, scientific. Juan maldacena is a professor in the school of natural sciences at the institute for. He continues to study a relationship he has proposed between quantum gravity and quantum field theories in an effort to further understand the deep connection between black holes and quantum field theories as. Juan martin maldacena is a theoretical physicist and the carl p. Juan maldacena s second lecture is a short introduction to the adscft correspondence with a short discussion on its plane wave limit. Maldacena submitted on 31 jul 1996 v1, last revised 20 aug 1996 this version, v2 abstract.
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