Physics
Scientific paper
Jan 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005jphcs..24.....a&link_type=abstract
Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Volume 24, Issue 1, pp. (2005).
Physics
Scientific paper
The Mexican School on Gravitation and Mathematical Physics, sponsored by the Mexican Physical Society, started in the early 1990s. The aim of the school is to consider different topics at the frontiers of current research on gravitation, field theory and mathematical physics. It is held every two years and a different theme is chosen on each occasion. The school, which is oriented towards advanced graduate students and non-expert researchers, has been gaining reputation because of the quality of the lectures given by leaders in each field. On previous occasions, the subjects covered have been Supergravity and Mathematical Physics, Branes, Black Holes, Early Universe and Observational Cosmology, and the speakers have included A. Ashtekar, A. Balachandran, J. Barrow, B. Carter, P. Chrusciel, G. Gibbons, M. Heusler, W. Israel, F. Müller-Hoisen, R. Kallosh, A. Linde, Y. Neeman, R. Myers, A. Peet, L. Randall, C. Rovelli, L. Smolin, R. Sorkin, P. Van Niewenhuizen, R. Wald, among other top ranked physicists.
Let us now turn our attention to the current edition of the school. The two great pillars of twentieth century physics are quantum mechanics and the general theory of relativity (GR) and, in spite of their great independent successes, it has been enormously difficult to combine them into a single theoretical framework. It seems that the nonlinearities of GR and its attractive nature pose severe problems to understand its possible quantum nature, e.g. renormalization issues. In order to solve this and other quantization problems, as well as to try to unify gravity with the other quantum fields (electromagnetic, weak, and strong fields), in the past decades several different approaches to quantum gravity have been developed.
In view of the fundamental importance of such topics today, the theme Approaches to Quantum Gravity was chosen for the VI Mexican School on Gravitation and Mathematical Physics. We considered that subjects like loop quantum gravity (quantum geometry), spin foams, De Sitter vacua in string theory and string landscape, black holes in string theory, time space non-commutativity, and some related topics on classical gravity would give a good picture about the current status of modern quantum gravity theories. Even though these approaches share the same goal, the basis on which they rely and the ways in which they tackle the quantization of gravity are conceptually and technically very different. As a result there is a richness of viewpoints on the subject. The aim of the VI Mexican School on Gravitation and Mathematical Physics was therefore to present these different viewpoints on quantum gravity, including the most recent theoretical results and the way in which these approaches attempt to get closer to experimental predictions. In addition, during the school we discussed open fundamental issues such as problems in classical and quantum physics related to the quantization of gravity, and the unification of the fundamental interactions of nature, among others.
As in previous schools, the topics were covered by leaders in the field, and the general perception by the participants was that this goal was certainly accomplished (not to mention the beautiful setting for the school in the Mexican Caribbean at Playa del Carmen). About one hundred people participated from all over the world and we are indebted to all of them. Undoubtedly, the school would have not been possible without the main courses and plenary lectures. Therefore, our deep gratitude goes to all the invited speakers. The school was complemented with more specialized topics presented in parallel sessions, some of which are included in these proceedings.
Finally, the goal of the school would certainly be incomplete if there were not some record of the ideas presented during the week in November 2004. We therefore warmly thank all the contributors who made possible the publication of the present proceedings.
Alcubierre Miguel
Cervantes-Cota Jorge L.
Montesinos Merced
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