Quantum Gravity
Our research team is dedicated to the investigation of gravity from a theoretical point of view, from classical general relativity to the various approaches to its quantization. Quantum gravity indeed remains one of the major challenges in theoretical physics, aiming to unify quantum field theory and general relativity in a single consistent mathematical and physical framework, thereby leading to a description of the gravitational interaction from the Planck scale to cosmological distances. There exist several approaches to this deep question, with various starting points and objectives, but which converge in the end to similar physical principles and mathematical formalisms: string theory, loop quantum gravity, holography, non-commutative geometry, effective field theory and exact renormalization group equation, causal sets, dynamical triangulations, …
In this context, our main lines of research are:
- the study of the symmetries of general relativity, from both asymptotic and local perspectives, and their applications to the dynamics of the theory at both classical and quantum levels;
- the definition of a well-defined path integral for quantum gravity formulated as an (almost-) topological field theory, in particular using the spinfoam formalism and group field theories (extending random matrix and random tensor models);
- loop quantum gravity, its dynamics and renormalization flow, and more generally the reformulation of Planck scale geometry in terms of quantum information;
- quantum gravity phenomenology, in particle physics, cosmology and astrophysics.
One of our team members, Etera Livine, is also a co-founder of the International Society for Quantum Gravity https://isqg.org/.
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Long-term visitor : Jibril Ben Achour (Munich, Allemagne)
Postdocs : Sucheta Majumdar (Labex LIO), Hugo Roussille (AGPR ENS Lyon)
PhD students : Clara Montagnon
Main Collaborations: Perimeter Institute (Waterloo, Canada), Arnold Sommerfeld Center (Munich, Allemagne)
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For more details on our activities, our past members, our publications and online seminar series, you are welcome to visit our webpage: https://qglyon.wordpress.com/