Heidelberg Joint Astronomical Colloquium

Speaker Kristina Giesel
Title Loop Quantum Gravity
Abstract

In this talk we will give a brief introduction to Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG), a candidate for a theory of quantum gravity. We will explain how LQG can be obtained from quantising classical general relativity and discuss the properties of the quantum theory and its differences to the quantum field theory used in the standard model. The dynamics of LQG is described by the so called Quantum Einstein Equations, which are the quantum analog of the classical Einstein Equations. During the talk the interpretation and special cosmological solutions of the Quantum Einstein Equations will be discussed. The semiclassical sector of LQG is the sector of the theory where quantum fluctuations of the geometry are considered to be small. It will be explained what is known about the semiclassical sector of LQG and in which sense general relativity can be understood as a classical limit of LQG.