Gary T. Horowitz
University of California, Santa Barbara
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Primary Section: 13, Physics Membership Type:
Member
(elected 2010)
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Research Interests
I am a theoretical physicist studying both classical and quantum aspects of gravity. My research mostly focuses on questions involving gravity under the most extreme conditions. These include the big bang in cosmology and the spacetime inside black holes. According to general relativity, these are singularities -- regions where Einstein's field equation breaks down. A deeper understanding of singularities requires a quantum theory of gravity. String theory is a promising candidate for such a theory and predicts that space has more than three dimensions. I have found new higher dimensional black holes, and possible shapes for the extra spatial dimensions. I have also explored quantum properties of black holes and quantum descriptions of singularities. One of the most remarkable insights to come out of string theory is called gauge/gravity duality. This allows one to relate problems in gravitational physics to problems in nongravitational physics. I am currently using this new tool to better understand both quantum gravity and aspects of particle physics and condensed matter physics. In particular, I recently found a gravitational dual of a superconductor.
