Quantum mechanics, special relativity, and constraints on fundamental physics

Abstract: Quantum mechanics is the framework in which our fundamental theories are written, and special relativity is a symmetry of these theories. Quantum mechanics and special relativity are compatible, but their union leads to extremely strong constraints. I will discuss what we have learned about the extent to which these constraints shape the structure of the physical laws as we know them, including the laws governing the forces of nature: electromagnetism, the strong force, the weak force, and gravity. I will also describe ongoing efforts to understand how these constraints change at the largest scales of our universe, and how this might shape the physics of the very early or very late universe.

Physics

Audience: researchers in the discipline

University of Mississippi Physics and Astronomy Colloquium