30.03.2022 (Wednesday)

Singularity theorems in semiclassical gravity

Regular Seminar Eleni Kontou (University of Amsterdam)

at:
13:45 KCL
room k0.20
abstract:

The classical singularity theorems predict the existence of singularities, defined using incomplete geodesics, under a set of general assumptions. One of those assumptions, namely the energy condition, is always violated by quantum fields and thus the realm of semiclassical gravity is outside the scope of these theorems. However, quantum fields do obey weaker conditions which can also be used to predict singularities. In this talk, I will present derivations of such semiclassical singularity theorems both in the timelike and the null case and discuss the challenges and open questions for each case.