There is a "Warped side" to our universe, consisting of objects and phenomena that are made solely or largely from warped spacetime. Examples are black holes, singularities (inside black holes and in the big bang), and cosmic strings. Numerical-relativity simulations are revolutionizing our understanding of what COULD exist on our universe's Warped Side; and gravitational-wave observations (LIGO, VIRGO, LISA, ...) will reveal what phenomena actually DO exist on the Warped Side, and how they behave. To detect the gravitational waves and extract their information, in the era of "Advanced LIGO" (ca. 2014 onward), we must use quantum nondemolition technology -- technology that circumvents the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in 40 kilogram mirrors. As a byproduct, Advanced LIGO can be used to explore the quantum behavior of human-sized objects.
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : Universe, Macroscopic quantum mechanics, Gravitanional waves, Numerical relativity

Combining the principles of general relativity and quantum theory still remains as elusive as ever. Recent work, that concentrated on the points of conflict and contact between quantum theory and general relativity, suggests a new perspective on gravity. It appears that the field equations of gravity in a wide class of theories - including, but not limited to, standard Einstein's theory - can be given a purely thermodynamic interpretation. In this approach gravity appears as an emergent phenomenon, like e.g., gas or fluid dynamics. I will describe the necessary background, key results, and their implications.
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : Gravity, General Relativity, Quantum Theory

Sur les traces de Louis de Broglie Les bases de la mécanique quantique Episode 1 Générique Alain Caron Aristarque Productions CNRS Images/media
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : quantum