Theory Seminar

“Causality constraints on corrections to Einstein gravity”

by Julio Parra-Martinez (Caltech)

Europe/Berlin
Zoom

Zoom

Join Zoom Meeting https://mppmu.zoom.us/j/93592882280?pwd=amlDOVZqUExCZ09rb3l3eHBnaUJCUT09
Description

In this talk I will explain how to study constraints from causality and unitarity on 2→2 graviton scattering in four-dimensional weakly-coupled effective field theories. Together, causality and unitarity imply dispersion relations that connect low-energy observables to high-energy data. Using such dispersion relations, I will explain how to derive two-sided bounds on gravitational Wilson coefficients in terms of the mass M of new higher-spin states. Such bounds imply that gravitational interactions must shut off uniformly in the limit G→0, and prove the scaling with M expected from dimensional analysis. In addition they demonstrate the gravity must be weakly coupled at all scales below Planck. Time permitting, I will comment on the experimental implications of the bounds.