What is spacetime, exactly? And how does it impact our understanding of important phenomena in our universe?

According to Einstein's theory of gravity, spacetime is both curved and dynamical. The theory had two surprising predictions: black holes and the expansion of the universe. In both cases, there are regions of spacetime that are outside the reach of the classical theory, the so-called "singularities." To address them, we need a quantum mechanical description of spacetime.

Juan Maldacena studies black holes, string theory, and quantum field theory. In his July 27 Perimeter Public Lecture webcast, he will describe some ideas that arose from the study of quantum aspects of black holes. They involve an interesting connection between the basic description of quantum mechanics and the geometry of spacetime. He will also delve into how wormholes are related to quantum entanglement.

Maldacena began his studies in his native Argentina, before completing a PhD at Princeton University in 1996. He has been a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton since 2001. He is a member of the American Physical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and The World Academy of Sciences, among many other honours. Maldacena was also one of the inaugural laureates of the prestigious Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2012.

Tune into this special webcast on Thursday, July 27 at 7 pm ET, and subscribe to Perimeter’s YouTube channel for more fascinating science videos.

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