by
Frederic P. Schuller(Albert Einstein Institute)
→
Europe/Stockholm
FA31
FA31
Description
All we know about the structure of physical spacetime, we ultimately infer
from the behaviour of matter inhabiting it. Restricting attention to classical
matter, Einstein showed in this fashion how the properties of electromagnetic
fields reveal an underlying metric structure of spacetime. General relativity
then builds on taking the Lorentzian metric seriously as a dynamical object in
its own right, providing a phenomenally successful theory of gravity.
But all matter is quantum, and in this talk I will show how this leads to
the emergence of a refined `area metric' geometry. Gravitational dynamics for
four-dimensional area metric manifolds then provide a theory of spacetime and
matter, which surprisingly addresses the observed late-time accelerated expan-
sion of the universe without a need for dark energy. The emergence of an area
metric spacetime structure has further remarkable consequences for singularity
theory and our understanding of physics in strong gravitational fields.