What does quantum cryptography have to do with black holes and gravity? Quite a lot, in fact.
Alex May, Murray Gell-Mann Chair in Theoretical Physics at Perimeter, recently spoke to Epsiloon about how his work in cryptography relates to the quest to unify gravity and quantum mechanics. His research into position verification techniques has offered a new way to look at the AdS/CFT correspondence, a model where a spacetime subject to gravity relates mathematically to a quantum field theory without gravity.
“Thanks to the language of cryptography, we are beginning to make sense of things we didn’t understand in high-energy physics,” says May.
Read the Epsiloon piece (in French).
About PI
Perimeter Institute is the world’s largest research hub devoted to theoretical physics. The independent Institute was founded in 1999 to foster breakthroughs in the fundamental understanding of our universe, from the smallest particles to the entire cosmos. Research at Perimeter is motivated by the understanding that fundamental science advances human knowledge and catalyzes innovation, and that today’s theoretical physics is tomorrow’s technology. Located in the Region of Waterloo, the not-for-profit Institute is a unique public-private endeavour, including the Governments of Ontario and Canada, that enables cutting-edge research, trains the next generation of scientific pioneers, and shares the power of physics through award-winning educational outreach and public engagement.
